Interpreting Written Law: Formalism, Pragmatism, and Beyond

LAW 3391 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

Prerequisite: None

Exam Type: No Exam

We’ll plan to tackle formalism and pragmatism, of course, but we intend to go both deeper and broader. Among other topics, we’ll explore old-school legal realism, probe the question whether textualism and originalism are in fact one and the same thing or just close cousins, and dive into the subtle-but-important distinctions between clinical, dictionary-driven ordinary "meaning" and organic, on-the-ground ordinary "understanding." We’ll likely explore the pros and cons of using both corpus linguistics and AI-based LLMs to unearth real-world understanding. (Bonus: We hope and expect that Justice Breyer – whose book, and our review of it, got this whole thing started – will make a guest appearance!) Students will write a short “thought piece” (by which we do not mean a research paper), due by the end of the spring semester (not the end of the week-long class period). Students are encouraged – but not required – to consider turning their thought pieces into more substantial written works for publication.

Note: This course will meet on a condensed schedule, February 24 - 25 and March 3 - 4.