Ethical Sentiments and the Role of Literature in the Jurisprudence Seminar

This article focuses on a typical law and literature jurisprudence seminar and the use of literary texts in this type of class to foster the development of "ethical sentiments" in future legal practitioners. While the majority of jurisprudence courses within a standard law curriculum tend to use political theory, philosophical, or socio-cultural approaches to the fundamental questions considered in this type of course (what is justice? what is fairness? what does ethical conduct mean for a lawyer?), this course uses literary texts to foreground basic questions relating to ethics and professional responsibility in the practice of law. Whereas a Professional Responsibility or Professional Ethics course often deal with the precise rules and regulations of a specific jurisdiction's ethical code, the law and literature jurisprudence seminar seeks to broaden the experience of law students through juxtaposing fictional narratives (novels, short stories, plays, poetry) with and ongoing ethical questions future lawyers will undoubtedly face throughout their careers.