Law in British Literature: Shakespeare to McEwan - Single View

British literature has, in its long history, shown a close connection to developments in law: It has addressed legal issues through literary art; it has shown the influence of legal form and rhetoric in its development and it has become a site of interest in law studies, notably since the beginning of the law and literature movement in late 1970s. Students will be introduced to readings of key literary texts, from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice to Dickens' Bleak House all the way to Ian McEwan's The Children Act, but to the theoretical discussions in the background of these readings. Students in the seminar will also gain insight in the ongoing research of Muenster's Collaborative Research Centre 1385 "Law and Literature", funded by the German Research Council (DFG), where front-line research in this field is being carried out. Students who wish to gain a first impression and prepare for the seminar, could read Kieran Dolin, Law and Literature (Cambridge: CUP, 2018), which can be accessed online for free from the University Web (University network on site or VPN at home). Methodically, the seminar is planned to be dialogue- and discussion-based, so will be best suited to those students who can attend on a regular basis.