The first English-language anthology of Yan Thomas, whose contributions to Roman law revolutionised legal scholarship Collects and translates 10 essays by Yan Thomas (1943 2008), the most renowned French jurist of the 20th century Provides a juridical perspective on the genealogy of the Western subject and the elementary conditions for the exercise of power Builds on the growing interest in Thomas' work generated by recent engagements, such as in Giorgio Agamben's Homo Sacer series Demonstrates the formal continuity of socio-legal techniques that have defined Western legal culture Western legal professionals habitually rely on a version of legal history that bolsters their own sway over the present. The legal mythologies undergirding these self-serving proposals are divided between doctrines of law's immemorial nature, and of its sacred (Roman) origins. Thomas's de-mythicised jurisprudence, presented in this collection of essays, dismisses these sagas. His work sent seismic waves across the humanities and social sciences, with claims including: Law is not a set of rules, but the operation of legal arguments; lawyers are the agents of the legal denaturalisation of the world Rome is misread as an essentially political entity; the effect exercised on Roman society by its jurists ranks before that of its politicians Despite a widely accepted opposition between modern labour law and the Roman renting-out of a slave's workforce, there exist unexpected commonalities 'Legal order' and 'responsibility' are among the inventions of modern law; they are not part of the timeless inventory of the world

About the Author
Yan Thomas (1943), a seminal specialist on Roman social and legal institutions and legal anthropology, taught at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes (Paris), until his death in 2008.Alain Pottage is Professor of Law at SciencesPo, Paris. He was previously Professor of Law at the London School of Economics. His work focuses on the history and theory of intellectual prop- erty and questions relating to law and the Anthropocene.Thanos Zartaloudis is a Reader in Legal Theory and History at Kent Law School, University of Kent, and Lecturer in History and Theory Studies at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London.Anton Schu?tz is an Honorary Fellow of Kent Law School, University of Kent. He is co-editor of the book series Encounters in Law and Philosophy (EUP). His current studies focus on right-centred v. law-centred normative ordersThanos Zartaloudis is a Reader in Legal Theory and History at Kent Law School, University of Kent, and Lecturer in History and Theory Studies at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London.Cooper Francis is an essayist and translator who completed his post-graduate studies at the Center for Research in Modern European Philosophy, Kings College London.Anton Schu?tz is an Honorary Fellow of Kent Law School, University of Kent. He is co-editor of the book series Encounters in Law and Philosophy (EUP). His current studies focus on right-centred v. law-centred normative ordersChantal Schu?tz is Head of Department of Languages and Cultures at the E?cole Polytechnique, Paris. Her recent work is on early modern broadside ballads; Thomas Middleton; Shakespeare; and performances history

Reviews
"Yan Thomas was the most creative jurist, and the finest historian of Roman law, in his generation. No one did so much to study the language and reveal the thought of the Roman jurists. To have access to his work in English is an invaluable contribution." -Clifford Ando, University of Chicago



Book Information
ISBN 9781474446686
Author Yan Thomas
Format Paperback
Page Count 360
Imprint Edinburgh University Press
Publisher Edinburgh University Press