Here’s a curated list of engaging topics that every law student should consider when preparing for their dissertation. Choosing the right topic is crucial to your success, so take the time to explore these ideas!
- Natural Law – history and general ideas
- Natural Law – especially the classical theorists such as Aristotle, Cicero etc
- Natural Law – especially the modern theorists eg John Finnis
- Legal Positivism – general ideas and themes
- Legal Positivism – John Austin
- Legal Positivism – Jeremy Bentham
- Legal Positivism – HLA Hart
- Compare and contrast: natural law v legal positivism
- Hart v Fuller debate – explain what it was all about
- Legal Realism – Oliver Wendell Holmes
- Legal Realism – Jerome Frank
- Legal Realism – another theorist aside from the 2 that we discussed in class (ie, choose someone other than Frank and Holmes such as Karl Llewellyn)
- Legal Realism: compare and contrast different theorists with one another
- Critical Legal Studies – the main themes with examples
- Feminist Legal Theory – general themes and achievements
- Feminist Legal Theory – Catherine McKinnon’s theory in particular
- Feminist Legal Theory – Arab or Islamic Feminists
- Critical Race Theory – general themes and achievements