Ilenia Ruggiu - Böcker

How can jurists resolve multicultural conflicts? Which kind of questions should judges ask when culture enters the horizon of the law? Are they then called to become anthropologists? Through the analysis of hundreds of cases produced through decades of multicultural jurisprudence, this book reconstructs the constitutional and anthropological narratives and the legal techniques used by Western judges to face the challenges posed by multiculturalism: from Japanese parent–child suicide to the burqa, from Jewish circumcision to Roma begging, from kissing a son on his genitals to the claim of indigenous people to fish salmon in natural parks, the book brings the reader into a fascinating journey at the crux of the encounter between the relativism of anthropology and the endeavor toward a democratic coexistence pursued by the law. After identifying the recurrent themes or topoi used by judges and lawyers, this book critically analyzes them, evaluates their persuasive power and suggests a "cultural test" that gathers together the crucial questions to be answered when resolving a multicultural dispute. The "cultural test" is a matrix that guides the judge, lawyers and legislatures across the intricate paths of multiculturalism, to assure a relational dialogue between the law and anthropology.

By combining legal and genealogical methodologies, this book describes the origin, decline, resurgence and metamorphosis of patriarchy in the West. The book provides the reader with a unified tool for understanding what patriarchy is, its dynamics, and its main features. The reader will find a guide with which to navigate the dozens of definitions and theories of patriarchy, and will better understand why, despite the proclamations of formal Constitutions of the equality of the sexes, the gender gap in the West is still high. Approaching patriarchy both as a concept and as a social fact, the book shows how patriarchy lay at the Jewish-Greek-Roman roots of Western civilization; how for millennia it was perceived as a benevolent function for social and political life and how feminism reversed this benevolent narrative. By reconstructing how patriarchy has been theorized in several disciplines and historical times, the book reflects on what has been done and remains to be done to de-patriarchalize the West. It will be a valuable resource for academics, researchers and students in Women’s Studies, Gender Studies, Constitutional Law, Cultural Studies, Religious Studies and Anthropology.

How can jurists resolve multicultural conflicts? Which kind of questions should judges ask when culture enters the horizon of the law? Are they then called to become anthropologists? Through the analysis of hundreds of cases produced through decades of multicultural jurisprudence, this book reconstructs the constitutional and anthropological narratives and the legal techniques used by Western judges to face the challenges posed by multiculturalism: from Japanese parent–child suicide to the burqa, from Jewish circumcision to Roma begging, from kissing a son on his genitals to the claim of indigenous people to fish salmon in natural parks, the book brings the reader into a fascinating journey at the crux of the encounter between the relativism of anthropology and the endeavor toward a democratic coexistence pursued by the law. After identifying the recurrent themes or topoi used by judges and lawyers, this book critically analyzes them, evaluates their persuasive power and suggests a "cultural test" that gathers together the crucial questions to be answered when resolving a multicultural dispute. The "cultural test" is a matrix that guides the judge, lawyers and legislatures across the intricate paths of multiculturalism, to assure a relational dialogue between the law and anthropology.