This wasn't as out of the park as some of the other courses I've taken in PHIL here at UBC, but it still is an excellent class. I can wholeheartedly recommend this class for those with a predominant interest in PHIL but who also want to fulfill (part of) their literature requirement. There were two caveats to this class--the first was that it took place from 18:00 to 19:30; the second was that it was incredibly reading-heavy.

We learned about a *lot*. We began by covering some ideas about narrative in hermeneutics, then covering content related to scientific lenses of interpretation against hermeneutic ones, then post-structuralism, and finally scepticism. The range of authors is far too broad to adequately talk about here--let it suffice to know that you have 41 required readings. Their range is extremely broad. You get to survey a whole bunch of neat authors and neat readings, many of whom you will disagree with, and many of whom you will agree with. What is really excellent is that you have the opportunity to discuss your misgivings or approval of particular readings in the class. Stefan stimulates discussion a little, and usually after someone makes a point, the others start flying out all over the class. T...read more

Dr. Lukits is a really interesting fellow. He's got a unique delivery style in class which makes him rather nice to listen to. He's also rather sharply attuned to the readings that he provides for us in class, and has spoken to the authors of our texts where he could. He's also great at interacting with students and making our discussions interesting and provocative. There's a good sort of rapport between him and the students. That being said, if anything crops up (extensions or remedies for missed items) you need to use your formal channels--he prefers these things to be taken to the relevant advising office as opposed to dealing with you on a case-by-case basis.

Do the readings, do the readings, do the readings. You're going to have mandatory reading quizzes each class that are worth around a percent and a half or something, which isn't super high-stakes. However, you really need to be on top of your readings because they're two-minute quizzes, so you gotta know your answers. If you didn't do the reading, then you will flounder on the quiz. I recommend doing things either the afternoon of or day before. Make one page (that's right, just a single page) of the most important takeaways of each author and their respective text for the final exam (interview & short quiz). You'll be asked about one author from class and what you think of their ideas, so you need to be on top of the texts and have a general surveyed understanding of them all.

This is a pretty decent class. It's nothing crazy to write home about, but it does teach you a decent amount about the ways law can be interpreted and discussed in the philosophical discipline. Worth taking if you want some breadth added to your degree.

This class centres around the approaches to reading law and interpreting it. There are many traditions, but we focus mainly on legal positivist and Marxist analysis. There are a bunch of different authors you study who have all sorts of opinions. They intersect and debate one another, and it's actually pretty interesting to see the approaches to how law is read and understood. Examples of authors read include: Marx, Engels, Kafka, Scalia, Litowitz, Dostoyevsky, Hart, Rawls, Fish, Luhmann, Barthes, Foucault, Nozick, Mill, etc. There's a lot in there, and there's not a lot of time to digest things. That works out in the class' favour, because everything builds on top of itself and ultimately amalgamates into a broader landscape of legal philosophy and interpretations thereof. 1 quiz per clas...read more

Dr. Lukits is kind and knowledgeable. He's got a lot of thoughts and can definitely lead some good discussions in class, which make class interesting and worth attending. His grading policies were also really chilled out. On the whole, he's a really solid professor who knows what he's doing.

Fortunately for me, I took this right after having taken his PHIL 375 course. I was prepped for this quantity of readings. I recommend you prepare yourself and master the art of skimming. Also, be ready to write a narrow-thesis phil paper. That's what your second paper is, and its requirements are specific (in order to do well).