Law, Crime, & Literature

Catalog description

An interdisciplinary course that considers the manifestations of law and crime-related subject matter in a given national literature (British, American, World, etc.) while also doing readings in legal theory, legal history, and criminal justice. Fictional genres studied may include detective fiction, the legal thriller, the Newgate novel, etc. Students will study how elements of courtroom procedure and evidentiary theory--for example, circumstantial evidence as a paradigm--intersect with particular literary forms and genres and will consider how authors and attorneys construct narratives.