Canadian Store (CAD)
You are currently shopping in our Canadian store. For orders outside of Canada, please switch to our international store. International and US orders are billed in US dollars.
University Club of Victoria, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC
View Larger Map ›
Please RSVP
Join Patricia Cochran for the launch of her book Common Sense and Legal Judgment: Community Knowledge, Political Power, and Rhetorical Practice at the University Club of Victoria. The launch event will be an informal reception.
Common Sense and Legal Judgment explores this rhetorically powerful phrase, arguing that common sense, when invoked in political and legal discourses without adequate reflection, poses a threat to the quality and legitimacy of legal judgment. Often operating in the service of conservatism, populism, or majoritarianism, common sense can harbour stereotypes, reproduce unjust power relations, and silence marginalized people. Nevertheless, drawing the works of theorists such as Thomas Reid, Antonio Gramsci, and Hannah Arendt into conversation with rulings by the Supreme Court of Canada, Patricia Cochran demonstrates that with careful attention, the democratic, egalitarian, and community-sustaining aspects of common sense can be brought to light.
Patricia Cochran is assistant professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Victoria.
"Anyone working on legal judgment, and especially working with the Arendtian (unfinished) approach to judgment will want to take account of this important and well-thought-out book. It is a major contribution to legal studies." Jennifer Nedelsky, University of Toronto
Prior to the launch, attendeers are also invited to join an Author-Meets-Reader panel from 12:00-1:20 PM on the same day. The panel is presented by the Faulty of Law, University of Victoria and will be held in Room 152 of the Fraser Building.
Readers: Hester Lessard (Law), Sara Ramshaw (Law), Patrick Rysiew (Philosophy), and Jeremy Webber (Law)