LRS Invitation to Guest Lecture on Law&Literature

By


Maria Aristodemou, Senior Lecturer in Law, Birkbeck University of London

DOES THE LETTER OF THE LAW ALWAYS ARRIVE

AT ITS DESTINATION?

Thursday 30 April, 1-3 p.m.

(1.00 sandwich lunch, 1.30 talk)

MacRobert 302


Abstract

This lecture uses Balzac's short story "A Study in Feminine Psychology" as a springboard from which to explore what position the letter of the law occupies in a subject's psychic space. Through this tale of a mis-addressed declaration of love, the paper examines how the law and the signifier arrest the subject, and what freedom, if any, the subject has to manoeuvre around this position. Are subjects condemned, as Balzac seems to suggest in this tragi-comic tale, to never fully find, let alone assume, their own satisfying place "before the law"? Or that they can never do so without some embarrassment and/or pain? Further, if the letter of the law always arrives at its destination, if the subject is always arrested by the signifier, what hope is there for protest or critique?

Note

Preferable is a reading of one or even two short stories before the talk, in particular Balzac's A Study in Feminine Psychology which will be focused on. The other story is Edgar Allan Poe's The Purloined Letter, which is in the background of the talk. The speaker will try to go through them briefly.

Speaker

Maria Aristodemou, LLB (Bristol) LLM (Cambridge), is a Senior Lecturer at Birkbeck. Her research is interested in the interrelation of law and culture and, more specifically, how literary and other cultural narratives reflect and shape ideas about justice, norms and rules within society. It employs continental critical theory, in particular feminist, psychoanalytic and postcolonial approaches, to address texts ranging from Greek myths to contemporary writing, film and popular music.

She has published her book Law & Literature: Journeys from Her to Eternity with Oxford University Press in 2000.

All welcome!

Comments

Anonymous said…
indian lesbian asshole hot lesbian chat rooms lesbian beauties 3 asian beauties lesbian campers abduct girl blonde lesbian car lesbian choose action 2008 lesbian porn
26 December 2009 at 08:02
Anonymous said…
Amateur Privat Girls

free xxx games

Sexcam Amateur Fotzen
9 January 2010 at 01:06
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Constitutional Right to Female Sexual Pleasure?

By
Although a right to “sexual pleasure” usually does not fare among traditional rights enshrined in constitutions, such a right was nevertheless proposed by a female member of the Ecuadorian parliament when debating a forthcoming new constitution. Reuters report that the idea behind the proposal was to facilitate gender equality and to avoid sexual violence. Ultimately, however, and in spite of this noble cause, the proposal failed.
Read more

Movie: HOT FUZZ

By
Image
On Wed, 7 th October at 7pm in Taylor A19 the Legal Research Society will present its first movie night of this academic year with a screening of the film HOT FUZZ, a British action comedy with a huge portion of irony and black humour about the bigotry, hypocrisy and intrigues set in an (superficially) idyllic small town in Britain… Synopsis Sgt Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is a fiercely motivated and successful London copper who finds himself transferred to the sleepy town of Sandford . Almost everyone in this manicured little community seems to know and love each other. But if Sandford is a sleepy market town, it is home to some very real nightmares. Not that local coppers like loveable oaf Danny Butterman (Nick Frost) see anything suspicious about Sandford's absurd number of 'accidents'. Angel is no ordinary constable and launches an investigation, much to the amusement of his bumbling boss and his colleagues. Critics “Refreshingly British come
Read more

Head of State: Legal Debat About The UK's Election. Legal Research Society. 22 April 2010

By
Image
Head of State: Legal Discussion About The UK Election. Legal Research Society. 22 April 2010 There is a general feeling that the recent debate in Britain between the main party leaders was rather staid compared to the more theatrical style of the U.S Presidential debate on which it was modelled. Perhaps the British electorate would prefer the plain-spoken, tell-it-like-it-is politics of Chris Rock's prescient spoof of the U.S Presidential election. "Head of State" starts Chris Rock as an unlikely democratic for the presidency of the United State, who goes on to win over the electorate by shunning the political point-scoring and spin employed by other candidates and speaking forthrightly about issues that really concern people. Could such a tactic work for the political underdog in Britain. The screening of this sassy political satire was followed by a discussion of the recent and the forthcoming political debate in Britain, as well as the General Election that w
Read more