Thursday, June 3, 2004

Jeffrey Sherman (Chicago-Kent) has published A Tax Teachers Tries Law and (Dramatic) Literature, 37 Suffolk U. L. Rev. 255 (2004). Here is part of the Introduction:

Teachers of Law and Literature tend to overlook the wealth of suitable material lodged within the world of dramatic literature. A comprehensive survey of Law and Literature courses taught at American and Canadian law schools revealed that of the thirty-four most commonly-assigned works, only eight were plays. And of those eight, only one was written after the year 1620. My purpose in writing this article is not simply to provide an account of one teacher’s experience, but also, by means of that account, to encourage other teachers of Law and Literature to include more dramas– especially modern dramas–in their course materials. In addition, I hope to reassure “practical” teachers like me, who may fear that the Law and Literature movement has strayed too far from the law school’s core mission, that literature can stimulate students to think rigorously about the law.