Law and Literature Seminar, Tulane University

This interdisciplinary seminar will use various works from the canon of Western literature-Homer, Shakespeare, Kafka, and others-as well as American film to explore jurisprudential concerns such as the distinction between justice and revenge, law and illegality, and the limits and purposes of punishment. We will explore the differences and similarities between legal and literary narrative, the origin and nature of law, how law reflects (and whether it should reflect) community norms and moral views. Students will be required to prepare a research paper which they may use to satisfy the upper-class writing requirement, make one or more class presentations, and participate in class discussion. Reading assignments will consist of literary works and commentaries of these works. This information has been collected for the Post-Discipline Online Syllabus Database. The database explores the use of literature by schools of professional education in North America. It forms part of a larger project titled Post-Discipline: Literature, Professionalism, and the Crisis of the Humanities, led by Dr Merve Emre with the assistance of Dr Hayley G. Toth. You can find more information about the project at https://postdiscipline.english.ox.ac.uk/. Data was collected and accurate in 2021/22.