Law, Aesthetics & Art

Commissioning editor: Mónika Ambrus

Series editors: Alice Palmer, Alejandro Rodiles, and Wouter G. Werner

Legal practice is not just a matter of text-based, normative argumentation. It is also a material and bodily reality, which can be studied from aesthetic or artistic perspectives. Examples are legal architecture, paratextual elements, audiovisual representations or performances in law. Within legal argumentation, aesthetics also plays a significant role, as a matter of style or as an independent argument (e.g. in cultural heritage law). Several techniques used by artists are also employed by lawyers – albeit often implicit, e.g. in the construction of stories and characters. At the same time, law often figures in artistic productions, such as theatre plays, movies, novels, paintings or sculptures. Studying the relation between law, aesthetics and art requires multi- and interdisciplinary approaches. We therefore welcome manuscripts that transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries. We also welcome books that experiment with different styles of writing, e.g. through scripts or autobiographical stories or submissions that include images or QR links to audiovisuals or films. Finally, we welcome books that focus on the use of art and aesthetics in legal education, or on the use of law in teaching in the humanities.

1839 by Benjamin Armstrong (2018). Image courtesy of the Benjamin Armstrong © and Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne, Australia.

Keywords: Art, Law, Aesthetics, Legal education, Literature, Visual expressions

Geographical Scope: Global

Advisory Board

Professor Ruth Buchanan, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Canada
Yasco Horsman, University Lecturer, Centre for the Arts in Society, Leiden University, The Netherlands
Professor Nahuel Maisley, Faculty of Law, University of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Professor Karin van Marle, Department of Public Law, University of the Free State, South Africa
Marie Petersmann, Assistant Professor of Law, LSE Law School, United Kingdom
Professor Guilherme Vasconcelos, Law Department, ITAM, Mexico
Valeria Vázquez Guevara, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Law, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong