Paper's abstract

Carol J. Greenhouse, Anthropological Perspectives on the Americanization of Law
The article considers the so-called Americanization of law as a theoretical question for the sociology of law and as a practical question of worldview and social coordination in the United States. In Part I, the emphasis is on the assumption - implicit in the notion of "Americanization" - that law "has" cultural identity in national terms. In Part II, Americans' attitudes toward law (as demonstrated by ethnographic studies) suggest that Americans believe "their" law has American elements, but especially - and paradoxically - in their view that society itself is a legal mechanism. The article's conclusions raise critical and comparative questions in light of these premises and paradoxes.

Key Words : anthropology
t. 45, 2001 : p. 43-59

---