Publication details
Construction of vague legal concepts: the LEGO® experience
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2026 |
| Type | Peer-reviewed scientific article |
| Magazine / Source | The Law Teacher |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | Open access článku |
| Doi | https://doi.org/10.1080/03069400.2026.2651602 |
| Keywords | LEGO®; social representations; critical legal pedagogy; practical exercise; social constructionof legal meaning |
| Description | This paper introduces and explains an experimental pedagogical exercise thatemploys LEGO® bricks to explore vague legal concepts. Drawing inspirationfrom the social representations paradigm, which conceptualises meaning ascontinuously shaped through communicative and cultural practices, I approachvagueness not as a flaw in legal language but as evidence of law’s socialembeddedness and its reproduction of dominant norms and categorisations.The exercise, designed for an introductory class in courses on law and language,invites students to collaboratively build metaphorical representations of anunfamiliar legal concept using a method adapted from social representationsresearch (hierarchical evocations) combined with LEGO® construction. Throughthis material and playful mode of inquiry, students confront the contingent,negotiated and contested nature of legal meaning-making, challenging tradi-tional assumptions of legal objectivity and formalism. The paper outlines thetheoretical framework underpinning the exercise, situates it within criticalpedagogy and LEGO® Serious Play, and reports on insights from a recentimplementation of this exercise, drawing on students’ reflections and theartefacts they produced. The findings suggest that creative, metaphor-drivenlearning activities can reveal the limitations and possibilities inherent in thecollective construction of legal concepts, highlighting the pedagogical value ofmaking legal meaning-making visible, tangible and open to critique. |
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