Historical methods

Labour law not only involves the legal regulation of the work relationship, but also broader policy choices about the nature of society and the distribution of resources.Any sophisticated study of the discipline therefore mandates an understanding of both labour law's legislative content and the historical, social, political, and economic context within which it has evolved, and within which the legislation plays out.Thus, labour law scholars have been receptive to socio-legal methods-going beyond doctrinal legal sources and looking to other disciplines including industrial relations, sociology, and history.This chapter focuses in particular on how history can provide an entre into different ways of thinking about labour law and thus seeks to (re)introduce labour law scholars to historical methods.In order to do this, the chapter provides a general overview of how historians go about exploring the past, how labour law scholars have used historical methods, and the challenges and advantages of adopting a historical lens.A final section provides an example from a current research project to indicate how historical insights and methods may be helpful for labour lawyers to better understand the origins and distinctiveness of their chosen subject of study.