LGST 401(S) Senior Seminar: A Matter of Interpretation

There is a crucial ongoing debate about whether the interpretation of legal texts permits a measure of objectivity. In other words, are there right answers to most legal disputes or are judicial decisions inevitably subjective and value-laden? The last few decades have witnessed an assault on the possibility of legal objectivity, from both inside and outside the legal community, with the debate both influenced by and influencing the discourse in literary theory and epistemology. This course considers some of the major contributions to that debate, and probes whether and how it can be resolved. The class will read seminal works by literary theorists (such as Stanley Fish) and philosophers (such as Richard Rorty) in addition to legal academics and leading judges (including Ronald Dworkin, Owen Fiss, Judge Richard Posner, and Justice Antonin Scalia).
Format: seminar. Requirements: active class participation, several short papers, and a substantially longer final paper.
Prerequisite: Legal Studies 101 and at least two Legal Studies electives, or permission of the instructor. Enrollment limit: 25 (expected: 20-25). Preference will be given, in order of seniority, to students for whom this course completes the Legal Studies concentration.

Hour: A. HIRSCH