Theory and Methodology in Law
PhD School at the Faculty of Law at University of Copenhagen
Dates and time: 24 and 26 August 2026 from 9-16.
The course is designed for students who have recently embarked upon their PhD studies and who need to enhance their general understanding of methodology, as well as the ways in which the theoretical framework and specific research methods may be applied in their research projects. The course can also be relevant for students who have been working on their research for a while and need new perspectives on the methodology they employ in their research project.
The course provides an overview of main approaches commonly used by legal researchers. Apart from the main jurisprudential methods and approaches, participants will also be introduced to alternative methods and interdisciplinary approaches that may be relevant to legal research projects. The research approaches will be discussed in the context of international as well as Danish law. The course comprises a two-day course on Campus to be held on 24 and 26 August 2026.
Course objectives: The main objective of the course is to equip PhD students with insights on how to frame the theoretical foundation of their research project at the early stages of their PhD studies as well as how to identify and choose research methods of relevance to their main object of inquiry.
Intended learning outcomes:
Upon the completion of the course, participants will be able to:
- demonstrate an understanding of methods and approaches relevant to legal research,
- critically reflect upon the choice of method(s) and approaches in a legal research project,
- identify which approaches and methods are most suitable for answering major research questions in the participants’ own research projects.
Course format
Day 1 introduces participants to different lenses – or approaches – through which to study law. The first part of the day focuses on positivist approaches, realist and critical approaches, while the second part of the day introduces participants to a select number of interdisciplinary (or Law and…) approaches, including Law & Economics, Law & Technology and Law & Anthropology.
Day 2 offers an introduction to some of the main methods relevant to the study of law and legal phenomena. It presents participants with different ways of employing doctrinal methods, and additionally presents them with interview, ethnographic and text analytical methods.
Instructors
The course consists of lectures, presentations, and workshops delivered by senior academics based at the Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen. The course instructors are specialists in Danish and/or in international law and represent different areas of public and private law. Their expertise and insights will thus be helpful to participants pursuing their PhD projects in different legal fields.
Program
DAY 1: APPROACHES, MONDAY 24 AUGUST, 2026
| Time | Session |
| 9.00-9.30 | Welcome & introduction Zuzanna Godzimirska |
| 9.30-10.15 | Positivist approaches Astrid Kjeldgaard-Pedersen |
| 10.15-11.00 | Realist approaches Mikael R. Madsen |
| 11.00-11.15 | Break |
| 11.15-12.00 | Critical approaches Hanna Eklund |
| 12.00-12.30 | Lunch |
| 12.30-13.15 | Law and Political Science Nora Stappert |
| 13.15-14.00 | Law and Technology Anja Møller Pedersen |
| 14.00-14.15 | Break |
| 14.15-15.00 | Law and Anthropology Louise Victoria Johansen |
| 15.00-15.45 | Law and Economics Shai Dothan |
| 15.45-16.00 | Closing discussion Zuzanna Godzimirska |
DAY 2: METHODS, WEDNESDAY 26 AUGUST, 2026
| Time | Session |
| 9.00-9.15 | Welcome Sune Klinge |
| 9.15-10.00 | Philosophy of science and legal research Jakob v. H. Holtermann |
| 10.00-10.45 | Doctrinal methods Vol. I Henrik Udsen |
| 10.45-11.00 | Break |
| 11.00-11.45 | Ethnographic methods Julie Laursen |
| 11.45-12.15 | Lunch |
| 12.15-13.00 | Doctrinal methods Vol. II TBC |
| 13.00-13.45 | Interview methods Mikkel Jarle Christensen |
| 13.45-14.05 | Break |
| 14.00-14.45 | Text analytical methods Anne Lise Kjær |
| 14.45-15.15 | Closing session Sune Klinge |
Readings and written assignments
- 3 weeks prior to the course, the participants will receive a set of recommended readings, with which they should be familiar at the time of the course.
- 1 weeks prior to the course, the participants shall submit a brief presentation of their PhD projects (½-1 page) together with a description of methodological aspects of their research (1 page). These documents will be distributed among all participants.
- 2 weeks after the completion of the course the participants shall submit a 1-page reflection paper on the use of methodology and methods in their PhD project based on experience from the course.
Language: English
ECTS: 3 ECTS points for participating in the 2-day course and for submitting the required written assignments.
Registration: Please register via the link in the box no later than 20 June 2026
Further information: For more information about the PhD course, please contact the PhD Administration (phd@hrsc.ku.dk).
Literature
Positivist approaches
Kammerhofer, J. (2023). Legal positivism. In Max Planck Encyclopedias of International Law. Oxford University Press.
Realist approaches
Holtermann, J. v. H., & Madsen, M. R. (2021). European new legal realism: Towards a basic science of law. In S. Talesh, H. Klug, & E. Mertz (Eds.), Research handbook on modern legal realism (pp. 67–81). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Critical approaches
Eklund, H. (frothcoming). On Legal Formalism in Anti-Egalitarian Times: Slagelse Almennyttige Boligselskab, also known as the ‘Danish Ghetto Case’
Shklar, J. N. (1964). Legalism: Law, morals, and political trials. Harvard University Press.
Law and Political Science
Stappert, N., & Gammeltoft-Hansen, T. (2024). Bridging the Gap: Practice Theory in Interdisciplinary International Law and International Relations Scholarship. Nordic Journal of International Law, 93(1), 90-113.
Law and Technology
Brownsword, R., Scotford, E., & Yeung, K. (2017). Law, regulation, and technology: The field, frame, and focal questions. In R. Brownsword, E. Scotford, & K. Yeung (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of law, regulation and technology (pp. 3–38). Oxford University Press.
Law and Anthropology
Tejani, R. (2021). Anthropology. I S. Talesh, H. Klug, & E. Mertz (Red.), Research handbook on modern legal realism (pp. 394–411). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Law and Economics
Dothan, Shai. (2021). As if: why legal scholarship needs assumptions. Seton Hall Law Review, 51(3), 645-668.
Philosophy of science and legal research
Holtermann, J. v. H., & Madsen, M. R. (2016). Toleration, synthesis or replacement? The ‘empirical turn’ and its consequences for the science of international law. Leiden Journal of International Law, 29(4), 1001–1019.
Doctrinal methods Vol. I
Van Gestel, R. (2023). Quality, methodology, and politics in doctrinal legal scholarship. Law and Method.
Smits, J. M. (2017). What is legal doctrine?: On the aims and methods of legal-dogmatic research. I R. van Gestel, H.-W. Micklitz, & E. L. Rubin (Eds.), Rethinking legal scholarship (s. 207–228). Cambridge University Press.
Ethnographic methods
Garcia, A. (2021). Listening to noise. Anthropology Now, 13(1), 69–72.
Ingold, T. (2014). That’s enough about ethnography! Hau: Journal of Ethnographic Theory, 4(1), 383–395.
Doctrinal methods Vol. II
TBC.
Interview methods
Christensen, M. J. (2022). Stacked Fields of Criminal Justice: The National Embeddedness of Transnational Policing. International Criminal Justice Review, 32(3), 291-307.
Text analytical methods
Godzimirska, Z., & Kjær, A. L. (2024). Taking Texts Seriously: The Language of International Law. Nordic Journal of International Law, 93(1), 68-89.