The object(s) of legality

Abstract

In this article, we argue for the relevance of studying the association between objects and people as co-constituting legality in everyday life rather than solely focusing either on people or on ‘icons’. Indeed, we go further and argue that scholarship is in danger of producing an impoverished version of legal consciousness if it fails to look beyond the human actors, the people in society. Studying objects and associations, and their role in the making of legalities, is enriched by engaging with the insights of legal consciousness, and its close attention to the way in which everyday forms of engagement with legal orders are co-constitutive of legality. We illustrate through two different case studies how associations between objects and people (in a homeless shelter for young people and among herbalists) mediate and shape legal consciousness.