Literature And The Law From Aspen Publishers: A Unique Resource For Law Enthusiasts And Legal Educators
(NEW YORK, N.Y., July 26, 2007) – Literature and the Law by Thomas Morawetz, published by Aspen Publishers, explores the intersections of law and literature through engaging and entertaining short stories, book chapters, poems, plays and articles along with thought-provoking discussion topics (588 pages, $60). Aspen Publishers, part of the Wolters Kluwer Law & Business group, is a leading information provider for legal and business professionals and law students (www.aspenpublishers.com).
The book covers a comprehensive variety of topics in law and literature utilizing shorter, thought-provoking, works of fiction from such authors as Herman Melville, Harper Lee, Agatha Christie, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Philip Roth, Andre Dubus and more. This approach welcomes readers to develop fresh ideas through exposure to writers and stories primarily new to them.
"The most important job, the essential job that law and literature courses play is to refocus legal education on the inescapable truth that law is about individuals…," Morawetz writes in his introduction to professors.
The book begins by looking at lawyers and lawyering through stories by James Salter, Ward Just, Cynthia Ozick and Karel Capek. Succeeding chapters explore the meanings of law; freedom and crime; criminal minds; trial and punishment; finding meaning; and, finally, the law of literature.
Engaging discussion questions following each story prompt both educators and readers to explore a wide range of topics: professional ethics, justice, the lives of lawyers, the role of lawyers, the legal system, the psychology of lawyering, philosophy and more. An extensive, annotated list of complementary readings at the end of each chapter offers teachers and students a rich and varied choice beyond the selected texts. For educators, a detailed Teacher’s Manual is available for the book and discusses various approaches to each chapter and includes the author’s reflections based on more than 20 years of classroom experience.
About the Author
Thomas Morawetz is the Tapping Reeve Professor of Law and Ethics at the University of Connecticut School of Law. Professor Morawetz’s courses include Criminal Law, Contemporary Legal Theory, Law and Literature, Jurisprudence and Theory of Criminal Law. After graduating from Harvard College in 1963, Professor Morawetz pursued interests in law, literature and philosophy at University College, Oxford, on a Fulbright fellowship. He then earned a Ph.D. (1969) and an M.Phil. (1968), both in philosophy, at Yale University, where he also received his J.D. in 1968. He taught in the Yale philosophy department between 1969 and 1977, first as assistant professor and then as associate professor of philosophy. Morawetz has written or edited nine books, ranging across criminal law, legal philosophy, philosophical epistemology, justice and law and language. He has also published more than forty articles in these areas as well as professional responsibility and law and literature. His writings also include reviews of modern literature, mystery fiction, movies and a forthcoming book on philosophy, psychology and film.
For More Information
For more information on the 588-page Literature and the Law , call 1-800-638-8437 or visit www.aspenpublishers.com.
About Wolters Kluwer Law & Business
Wolters Kluwer Law & Business is a leading provider of research products and software solutions in key specialty areas for legal and business professionals, as well as casebooks and study aids for law students. Its major product lines include Aspen Publishers, CCH, Kluwer Law International and Loislaw. Its markets include law firms, law schools, corporate counsel and professionals requiring legal and compliance information. Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, a unit of Wolters Kluwer, is based in New York City and Riverwoods, Ill.
EDITORS’ NOTE:
Editorial review copies of Literature and the Law, are available upon request for members of the press.
Contact Neil Allen, 847-267-2179 or neil.allen@wolterskluwer.com or Brenda Au, 847-267-2046 or brenda.au@wolterskluwer.com.