99507 - Sem. Law and Culture

Learning outcomes

The Seminar, inspired by the connections between law and literature, music, theatre, and visual arts, offers a cultural experience that contributes to a well-rounded legal education. Its objective is to help students develop, alongside and in support of their technical preparation, an awareness of the cultural and historical-political nature of legal phenomena and their relationship with social customs and artistic expression.

Course contents

The Seminar builds a bridge between legal culture and other cultural domains, aiming to provide the transversal and interdisciplinary training essential for those who wish to excel professionally — and, even more importantly, as individuals. For a comprehensive understanding of the law-justice dichotomy, literature, music, cinema, theatre, and the arts in general are fundamental. No legal technique can be fruitfully applied unless the person using it possesses a global vision of the law and its connection to the broader field of the humanities.

The seminar will be divided into five sessions (three hours each, except for the final one, which will last four hours), dedicated to the following topics:

First session
Law in novels: from the great classics to contemporary authors

Second session
Private law through the lens of cinema: from Charlie Chaplin to Clint Eastwood

Third session
Law, music, and poetry: from Dante to De André and Eminem (including opera)

Fourth session
Group discussion and debate on the materials read, watched, and listened to. Students are invited to propose topics.

Fifth session
Theatre workshop

As for the final session (Theatre workshop), students will have the opportunity to form working groups to reflect on and discuss the seminar topics. Following the seminar, a legal-themed theatre performance will be organized, featuring both professional actors and students who wish to participate (all others will be invited to attend as audience members).

 

Readings/Bibliography

Active listening and participation in class will be sufficient.

Teaching methods

The course includes traditional lectures, supported by multimedia tools (such as viewing excerpts from films and theatrical performances, listening to musical pieces, and reading poetic and narrative texts). Depending on time availability, there will be in-person and online contributions from foreign professors, as well as a collaboration with the Spanish association Derecho y Literatura.

Assessment methods

In line with the seminar-based approach and group work interaction, the following are mandatory requirements to obtain a “pass” and earn the corresponding university credits (CFUs):

a) Attendance requirement: participation in all five sessions is mandatory, for the entire duration of each session. Credits cannot be earned without full attendance.

b) Active participation in group work and in the planning of the final theatre evening.

There is no final exam, but the seminar can only be successfully completed through active participation in class. Throughout the sessions—and especially during the final one (Theatre Workshop)—the achievement of the learning objectives will be assessed by:

• Asking students to share their opinions on the main topics discussed in class;

• Evaluating their ability to briefly report on the works (novels, poems, songs, paintings, etc.) mentioned and to reflect on their legal implications or possible interpretations from a legal perspective.

Teaching tools

Literary texts, film trailers, musical excerpts, and images of artworks.

Office hours

See the website of Antonio Albanese