Instructor: Dr. Daniel W. Skubik, PhD JD MDiv
Office: J266 /
Voice: 951.343.4288 / Fax: 951.343.4520
Web: http://www.calbaptist.edu/dskubik
E-Mail: dskubik@calbaptist.edu
Law & Literature
POL/ENG 330
Tuesday/Thursday
As several legal scholars
have observed, law is a profession of words. It is also a discipline or
practice, like religion, in which stories play a critical role. This course is
designed to examine the role and function of narrative in law, and the role and
function of law in major works of literature, to understand better both law and
literature. To do this, the course focuses upon the techniques we normally
associate with reading literature to read, understand and interpret law. We
will utilize selections ranging from Homer (Iliad), Kafka (“Before the Law” and The Trial),
Dickens (Bleak House), Dostoevsky (Brothers Karamazov), Melville (Billy Budd),
Shakespeare (“Hamlet”), and the Hebrew Scriptures (Noahic
and Mosaic law),
examining how literature often constructs law; and the consequences of reading
law, represented in selections from the U.S. Constitution and U.S. Supreme
Court decisions, as literature.
By the end of the term,
students should be able to (1) identify and critically evaluate selected
portions of literature that deal with law and legal cases using devices
associated with legal reasoning; and, (2) identify and critically evaluate
narratives and reasoning in legal cases using devices associated with literary
theory. (These objectives will be measured by successful completion of
substantive research projects and comprehensive exams.) Students should then be
able to demonstrate (such as through their participation and journaling
exercises) an ability to construct bridges between law and literature, as well
as detail significant differences between these cultural practices.
The course is open to all
students able and willing to engage in advanced study, and can be used to
fulfill undergraduate English and Political Science major or minor upper
division unit requirements for approved students.
Required Texts
Guyora Binder & Robert
Weisberg, Literary Criticisms of Law (Princeton University Press, 2000)
[available in paperback edition and ebook format]
Richard Posner, Law and
Literature (revised & enlarged edition, Harvard University Press,
1998/2002)
----------
*Richard Weisberg, Poethics: And Other Strategies of Law and Literature
(Columbia University Press, 1992) *[required text only for graduate students taking course cross-listed as ENG 549]
All books are readily available, new & used, from web shops such as Amazon.com
and Barnes & Noble, as well as from the CBU Bookshop.
Additional required literary and legal readings will also
be scheduled throughout the term, drawing from items placed on reserve in the
Annie Gabriel Library (AGL) and available through the Internet (such as through
Bartleby, FindLaw and Lexis-Nexis). See the
Supplemental
titles of interest and from which selections may be made available for class
study
William Bishin &
Christopher Stone, Law, Language and Ethics: An
Introduction to Law and Legal Method (Foundation Press, 1972)
Sanford Levinson & Steven Mailloux
(eds.), Interpreting Law and Literature: A Hermeneutic Reader
(Northwestern University Press, 1988/1991)
Gregory Leyh (ed.), Legal Hermeneutics: History,
Theory, and Practice (University of California Press, 1992)
Readings & Assignments Schedule
|
Week #1 |
Introduction to course, requirements and
expectations |
|
Week #2 |
Discuss B&W [Binder & Weisberg],
Introduction, 3-27; and |
|
Week #3 |
Discuss P, ch.7-8, 209-302; and |
|
Week #4 |
Leyh, 3-40 (Dallmayr and Bruns) [available on Blackboard]; and |
|
Week #5 |
Discuss B&W, ch.3, 201-291; and |
|
Week #6 |
P, ch.2, 49-92 & ch.4, 127-147; and |
|
Week #7 |
No face-to-face class meetings |
|
Week #8 |
Discuss B&S, 9-21 (Haslem
v. Lockwood, and Sharkiewicz v. Lepone); and |
|
Week #9 |
Discuss P, ch.5, 148-181; and |
|
Week #10 |
Discuss B&W, ch.5, 378-461; and |
|
Week #11 |
Spring
Break |
|
Week # 12 |
Discuss B&W, ch.6, 462-539 |
|
Week #13 |
Discuss Bleak House and The Trial [10th journal entry due] |
|
Week #14 |
Discuss P, ch.6, 182-205; |
|
Week #15 |
Discuss The
Brothers Karamazov [12th
journal entry due] |
|
Week #16 |
Review for Comprehensive Final Examination |
|
Thursday, Apr 26 |
Final Examination period as set by
University, |
Caveat
This syllabus schedule is
composed in good faith, with a schedule of readings and assignments that will
guide us throughout the term. Still, the instructor reserves the right to make
adjustments to this schedule as deemed necessary for the overall enterprise of
the course. Any changes will be communicated as far in advance as feasible, and
you are responsible for knowing if and when any changes have been made.
Assessment & Grading Scale
|
Research Project = 40% |
90 - 100 = A range (90-94 = A-) |
|
Comprehensive Final Exam = 25% |
80 - 89 = B range (80-83 = B-
/ 87-89 = B+) |
|
Journaling Project = 25% |
70 - 79 = C range (70-73 = C-
/ 77-79 = C+) |
|
Participation in-class = 10% |
60 - 69 = D range (60-63 = D-
/ 67-69 = D+) |
|
|
0 - 59 = F |
Research Project
Each student should choose,
in coordination with the instructor and no later than March 8th (Week
9), an individual research topic relating to our studies in law and literature.
The research project will culminate in a paper, running ~3500 words (~10 pages,
minimum, lengthier submissions are welcome), due to Turnitin
(via Blackboard) no later than
Topics selected early are
encouraged; topics selected later than March 8th are not permitted.
Papers submitted early (no later than
Your research efforts should
show significant effort, citing a minimum of five (5) primary sources plus five
(5) secondary sources actively used in the preparation and reflected in the
body of the paper. Use the MLA (for English credit) or APA (for Political
Science credit) style manual to format your paper.
Comprehensive Final Examination
The final exam will be
comprehensive in nature, with an emphasis on analytical essay writing that
draws from the full scope of our studies. The exam will comprise several (~4-6)
essay problems, grounded on some legal or literary selection and requiring
close analysis of the text in the light of our readings and discussions.
Students can choose to write on any two of those listed essays, each being
worth 50% of the exam’s total points.
The exam is closed book/open
notes. Meaning of open notes: you are
permitted to bring one sheet of
standard sized (8½” x 11”) paper with notes written on it, in any size
handwriting, type or font, without regard to margins, front and back.
Journaling Project
Students
should begin compiling an electronic journal related to this class. This means
that one should be journaling (that is, preparing substantive written entries
in some digital format that can be transmitted to the instructor via email)
each designated week, irrespective of whether the student actually attended
that week’s sessions.
A
substantive entry is ~200 words (minimum, lengthier entries are welcome) summarizing
and reacting to some key points from a particular week’s readings and class
discussions, perhaps relating to some real world case or event, some recently
read piece of academic literature, or simply related ideas provoked by life.
These entries can form a series of reflections, so linking entries along the
way one to another like an intellectual diary, or can be independent musings
week-by-week.
To
be considered timely, any entry should be received in the instructor’s email
inbox (dskubik@calbaptist.edu)
either as plain text within the body of the email or as a Word attachment) no earlier than Tuesday at 10:50am (end
of Tuesday’s class) and no later than
midnight of the subsequent Sunday of each class week for which credit is
sought. Thus, for example, a journal entry for Week 2—when we meet first on
Tuesday, January 16th—is due no earlier than the end of that class
period and no later than
Participation & Attendance
Although speaking in class, publicly putting and
defending a position or interpretation, can be daunting, you are strongly
encouraged to learn to think through your own and others’ experiences and
insights within the context of our discussions. In this setting, you are not
being evaluated for reaching “right” conclusions, but for demonstrating your
facility in forming arguments for any conclusions or ideas put, given the
material we cover.
To give direct incentive to so engage, 10% of your mark for the course will be comprised of my assessment of your participation during the semester. Participation in-class includes substantive contributions to our discussions on a regular basis and does not include attendance.
CBU Statement on Academic Dishonesty
Faculty in the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS)
have been asked to include the
following statement in all our syllabi. Do speak with your instructor if at any
time you have questions or concerns about this statement and its meaning for or
application in your classes.
Academic dishonesty (cheating, plagiarism, copying,
and other forms) will be reported to the Dean of Students. Judicial sanctions
for offense [sic] are handled on a case-by-case basis depending on the
seriousness of the violation, prior violations and other factors. Judicial
sanctions may include, but are not limited to, loss of a letter grade or
failure in the course in which the offense occurred, suspension, and/or
dismissal from the University. A detailed discussion of academic dishonesty is
located in the Student Handbook. [Source:
2006-2007 Undergraduate Catalog, at p.80]