Comparative Methods in Law, Humanities and Social Sciences

Edited by Maurice Adams, Professor of General Jurisprudence, Tilburg University, the Netherlands and Mark Van Hoecke, Professor of Comparative Law, Queen Mary University of London, UK and School of Law, Ghent University, Belgium

• Contents:Preface xiii1 Comparative disciplines: an introduction 1Maurice Adams2 Methods of legal history and comparative law 11Geoffrey Samuel3 Comparative legal history 45Kjell Å Modéer4 Comparative sociology: epistemological issues 62Jean-Pascal Daloz5 Elements of a comparative methodology in the study of religion 75Oliver Freiberger6 Comparative methods in legal anthropology: ‘thick’comparison through (cultural) translation 96Katrin Seidel7 The comparative advantage of cultural anthropology 121Peter van der Veer8 Methods in comparative politics 135Mathew Y.H. Wong9 Comparative philosophy and comparison 149Ralph Weber10 Between comparison and commensuration: the troublewith global social indicators 175David Nelken11 Particularism versus universalism in the history ofcomparative literature 197Angus Nicholls12 Comparing across societies and disciplines 221Mark Van Hoecke13 Conclusion: challenges of comparison 246Maurice Adams and Mark Van HoeckeIndex 264

‘Comparative Methods in Law, Humanities and Social Sciences makes a fresh and innovative addition to the booming literature on comparative research. The collection of chapters combines insights from various disciplines in humanities and social sciences such as law, literature, religion and politics. The editors have done a magnificent job in putting together a splendid group of world-class experts to author the individual chapters. This is a truly ground-breaking work and a must on every comparatist’s bookshelf.’