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Memory, Imagination, Justice: Intersections of Law and Literature
Gurnham, D
1 ed. Farnham: Ashgate; 2009.
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Abstract
Through the creative use of literary analysis, Memory, Imagination, Justice provides a critical and highly original discussion of contemporary topics in criminal law and bioethics. Author David Gurnham uses popular and classical texts, by authors including Shakespeare, Dickens, Euripides, Kafka, the Brothers Grimm, Huxley and Margaret Atwood to shed fresh light on such controversial legal and ethical issues as passionate homicide, life sentences, child pornography and genetic enhancement. Gurnham’s overarching theme is the role of memory and imagination in shaping legal and ethical attitudes. Along this line, this book examines the ways in which past wrongs are “remembered” and may be forcefully responded to, both by the criminal justice system itself and also by individuals responding to what they regard as gross insults, threats or personal violations. The volume further discusses the role of imagination as a creative force behind legal reform, in terms of the definition of criminal behaviour and the possible future development of the law. These ideas provide a useful and highly original perspective on contemporary issues of crime and society as they resonate both in legal and literary discussion.
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- Related website http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9780754671039
- “Gurnham ... makes our reading of current controversial legal issues more sophisticated. …Gurnham’s book sharpens our awareness that legal norms often reflect socially constructed images of sublimity, atrocity, innocence and guilt. … And this is of interest not only to legal theorists investigating the relation between law and morals, but also to practitioners encountering moral dilemmas that everyday legal practice is rich in. In that respect, Memory, Imagination, Justice: Intersections of Law and Literature is a rewarding read.” --- Haris Psarras, Social and Legal Studies (2010) 19(4) 522-5 “[A] truly innovative and outstanding piece of research. Memory, Imagination, Justice: Intersections of Law and Literature is a highly-recommended read. It has several merits in that it not only offers a useful wide-ranging reference point for academic and practising lawyers, philosophers and sociologists, it also provides a provocative and engaging addition to the existing body of literary jurisprudence.” --- Dr. Julia J. A. Shaw, Law and Humanities (2011) 5(2) (forthcoming)