ENGL 6710 - [Law and Literature]

(crosslisted) GOVT 6045

Spring. Not offered: 2023-2024. Next offered: 2024-2025. 3 credits. Student option grading.

Co-meets with AMST 3764/ENGL 3762/LAW 6710.

E. Anker.

What can lawyers and judges learn from the study of literature? This course explores the relevance of imaginative literature (novels, drama, poetry, and film) to questions of law and social justice from a range of perspectives. We will consider debates about how literature can help to humanize legal decision-making; how storytelling has helped to give voice to oppressed populations over history; how narratives of suffering cultivate popular support for human rights; the role played by storytelling in a trial; and how literature can shed light on the limits of law and public policy.