78211 Law and Literature

Description

In this subject students examine literary and legal responses to violence and trauma. The purpose of this examination is for students to understand and apply complex concepts that are drawn from the interdisciplinary area of law and the humanities. Students engage in a rigorous process of reading and discussion that includes some of the most fascinating and thought provoking literary works of the present, and of the 20th century, as well as judgments and other legal documents. Using these texts, students think about questions of justice related to central problems and traumas of recent times: the Holocaust, family violence, slavery and the Stolen Generations. Students use their readings of legal and literary texts to respond to questions about the role of law in adjudicating suffering and violence. Students apply advanced critical skills of analysis, research, communication and critical thinking—learning to not only evaluate and synthesise information, but also to critique legal and academic arguments. Students develop their capacity to communicate understanding of the concepts and critiques of the materials by presenting their ideas in lectures and seminars and providing peer feedback in weekly online activities.