INTRODUCTION TO LAW & SOCIETY – HIST/POLI/SOCI/ANTH 285

TAKE-HOME FINAL EXAM

Released: 12h00 on Monday, April 18, 2022, 2022

Submission Deadline: 11h59 (midnight) on Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Concordia University

Professor Sarah Ghabrial

Contact: sarah.ghabrial@concordia.ca

It is very important that you read these instructions carefully before and after reading the exam
questions that follow.

• The deadline for submission of this exam is 11h59 on Wednesday, April 27, 2022
o This is a hard deadline. Late submissions will not be accepted.
o Exemptions will only be granted if there is a medical or family emergency (involving an
immediate family member) during the 8 days of the exam period, and valid documentation is
provided.
o It is strongly recommended that you save your work to multiple places (a hard drive, as
well as a USB and/or “cloud drive,” such as GoogleDocs or Dropbox) to avoid loss of work
that might result in a decreased or failing grade.

• Submission Method:
o You must submit your exam via the Moodle submission function.
o Your submission must state: Your full name, your student number, and the course code.
o Submit your exam in a word (.doc) document.

• Rules for the Exam Period:

o This is a STRICTLY SOLITARY EXERCISE. You may not speak to any classmates
about the exam content or your answers until the submission deadline has passed.
o The rules regarding cheating and plagiarism for this exam are exactly as they would be for an
in-class sit-down exam. This means that your writing must be yours alone, and any direct
quotes or ideas borrowed from someone else must be properly attributed to that author.
o Suspicions of plagiarism will be investigated according to departmental regulation and, if
needed, disciplinary action will follow University policy (for more information, see
Concordia’s Academic Integrity guidelines: https://www.concordia.ca/students/academic-
integrity.html).

Introduction to Law & Society | Winter 2022 FINAL EXAM 1 of 3

• How to Answer the Exam Questions:
o On the next page, you will find three essay prompts. You must choose and provide an answer
to two of these questions.

o Formatting: Craft your response in the form of a well-structured and substantiated essay.
§ Each of your answers should be double spaced and 4-5 pages in length, totalling 8-10
pages, not including Bibliography.
§ You should use a 12-point serif font (like Cambria or Times New Roman).
§ Margins should be 2.5cm wide.

o Citation style: You may use either Chicago style (ie. footnotes) or MLA/APA style (ie. in-
text) for your citations. In either case, you must provide a bibliography.

o This exam is open-book. This means that you will be expected to refer to course material
(readings and lectures) in answering the exam questions. In addition to the required readings,
you may also refer to any supplementary materials I have posted to Moodle. There is no
minimum or maximum number of sources you may cite, but of course, a wide use of and
sophisticated engagement with the course material will result in a higher grade. In addition to
course materials, you may cite a maximum of 3 external sources per essay, which must be
either credible news sources or peer-reviewed academic work (such as a scholarly journal
article or study).

o Evaluation criteria: You will be graded on:

§ clarity and insightfulness of writing;
§ logical structure and organization of the essay;
§ persuasiveness of the argument (ie. making a central claim and substantiating it with
examples and evidence);
§ demonstrated engagement with course material, including lectures and readings;
§ and proper attribution and use of a recognized citation style.

o The final grade is given out of 100. Please click on “grading system” at this link to find the
letter grade equivalents in History.

o Questions: I will be available to field questions and provide clarifications throughout the
entire exam period. You can reach me by email at: sarah.ghabrial@concordia.ca (sarah-dot-
ghabrial-at-concordia-dot-ca).

Exam questions on next page à

Introduction to Law & Society | Winter 2022 FINAL EXAM 2 of 3

Choose and provide answers to TWO of THREE questions:

Essay Prompt 1 – Legal personhood:

Should domesticated animals be granted a limited form of legal personhood? Your answer must
include legal and philosophical definitions of personhood, as well as analysis of both the history and
potential future of legal personhood. Consider important judicial decisions and historical turning points
in terms of the expansion and retraction of legal personhood, whether for humans or non-humans –
including corporations and nature (eg. rivers, lakes, mountains).

Essay Prompt 2 – Governance of the ‘private’:

How and why does state law structure ideas of ‘family’ and intimacy? What has been the historical
and social effect of Western law’s dichotomous view of market/public vs domestic/private spheres? In
answering this question, refer to course material and discussions on ‘family law exceptionalism,’ as well
as the management of filiation and sex in Canada’s criminal law. You should also discuss how legal
governance of public/private spheres in Canada has been shaped by global and colonial histories.

Essay Prompt 3 - Debates:

This essay prompt is specific to the debates, and asks you to answer the questions: Is state law a
suitable setting in which to attain social justice? When and how should the law change? Naturally,
you will draw most heavily from your work in your own debate; however, you are also expected to refer
in a substantive way to at least one other debate in your answer. For this essay topic, you may cite any
materials from course lectures and readings, as well as the debate resource/instructions kits, and up to
three (3) external sources you researched for your own debate.

~ End of Exam ~

Introduction to Law & Society | Winter 2022 FINAL EXAM 3 of 3