Law, Culture, and the Humanities

Catalog description

"I'm not a lawyer, but..." How many times have you heard this disclaimer, closely followed by a lay analysis of law? This course, an introduction to the cultural study of law for graduate students and advanced undergraduate students, can be seen as an introduction to what goes into the making of such a statement. Where do we get our ideas about law? What do we mean when we say "law"? What counts as law? How does culture influence law, and law, culture? And to what degree should historical context condition any answers we might be tempted to give? Students in the course will study works in a range of genres (novels, plays, poems, judicial opinions, pamphlets) and develop methods for investigating ways that law and culture have been made by one another from the 16th-century to the present. Readings will include influential theoretical accounts of law (Aristotle, Hobbes, Cover, Habermas, Bordieu, MacKinnon, Alexander), canonical texts in Law and Literature (Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, Melville's Billy Budd, Kafka's The Trial) and some "weird fiction" by the novelist/legal theorist China Mi and #233;ville. As a counterpoint to the fiercely anti-historical "law and economics" movement, however, the course will put special emphasis on rooting intersections of law and culture in rich historical context, considering both local and international legal contexts (sometimes in fairly technical detail) alongside so-called "ephemera" of culture. Students will tackle the especially fruitful "case" of Renaissance Britain before developing final research projects, whether on the Renaissance or another period of their choosing. Prerequisites: 76-101 or 76-102 or ( 76-106 and 76-107 ) or ( 76-108 and 76-106 ) or ( 76-108 and 76-107 )