Lecture # 1: INTRODUCTION

Class plan: Eight major literary works will be considered during lectures #3, #5, #7, #9, #11, #13, #15 and #17. Lectures #2, #4, #6, #8, #10, #12 and #14 will cover fragments and excerpts of other literary works as well as expository prose and poetry germane to various themes.

Textbook: Law and Literature: Text & Theory (paperback edition) edited by Lenora Ledwon (1996, Garland Publishing, Inc). [$40.00 new from Amazon, some used at $22.00] [“Ledwon” in this syllabus].

Reading assignments: many can be accessed online. The eight major works may be purchased from Amazon.com and delivered for less than $100.00. Here are the eight major literary works each to be reviewed in a written essay not exceeding 750 words and due at the beginning of the lecture at which the piece will be discussed:

1. Herman Melville, Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative) (1924) (Harrison Hayford & Merton Seals, eds. U. Chicago Press, 1962). Please use this edition and read the essays, commentary and observations about the story. Lecture # 7, February 18, 2010.

2. William Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice (Oxford World's Classics) by William Shakespeare and Jay L. Halio (Paperback - May 15, 2008) Lecture # 3, January 21, 2010.

3. Franz Kafka, The Trial [introduction by George Steiner] A. A. Knopf, Inc. Schocken Books, Inc. ISBN 0-8052-1040-7. Lecture #17, April 29, 2010.

4. Albert Camus, The Stranger (1942) [A Student Guide, Landmarks of World Literature] by Patrick McCarthy, Paperback 2004. (Especially Part Two, the trial). Lecture # 15, April 15, 2010.

5. Sophocles, Antigone (in THE OEDIPUS CYCLE) (441 B.C.E.) (Cambridge Translations from Greek Drama) (Paperback), David Franklin (Translator), John Harrison, Translator, P.E. Easterling (Introduction). Lecture #9, March 4, 2010.

6. Aeschylus, The Orestia (Paperback) Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers and The Eumenides (525-456 B.C.E). (Penguin Classics) by Aeschylus, W. B. Stanford, and Robert Fagles (Paperback - Feb 7, 1984) Lecture # 5 February 4, 2010

7. Thomas Hardy, Jude the Obscure (and Michael M. v Superior Court 450 U.S. 464 (1981). (Oxford World's Classics) by Thomas Hardy and Patricia Ingham (Paperback - Jan 15, 2009). Lecture #13, April 1, 2010.

8. Helen Prejean, Dead Man Walking: An Eye Witness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States (paperback, 1994). Lecture #11, March 18, 2010.

Literary fragments, excerpts and the expository prose and poetry works are identified in the assignments section of each lecture plan.

Assignments for Class #1:

1. Book of Genesis: 4:1-24 The Story of Cain and Abel

Is the judge fair to Cain? Is the punishment just? Is it merciful? What is the nature of the justice system in the story? Identify all of Cain’s crimes. Which is the most serious? What does it mean to be avenged sevenfold? Is Lamech a murderer? Is he punished or protected? Why did God reject Cain's offering?

2. Psalm 19, 7-11.

What are the elements of a good legal system according to Psalm 19? Where does the law originate? What is its source, its authority? Does the source of the law in Psalm 19 have anything in common with the United States Constitution or the Declaration of Independence. Does crime pay?

3. Read Dante’s theory of contrapasso.

[Google the word ‘contrapasso’ with Dante’s name]. Is Cain’s punishment consistent with Dante’s theory of contrapasso? What exactly is Cain’s punishment(s)? Did God provoke Cain?