FRS 001H —
Sec. 001 — (1
unit) — CRN 45479 — F 11:00-11:50am — 126 Voorhies
The Rule of Law: Texts and Contexts
Instructor: Andrew Majeske, Department of English, College of Letter
and Science
Description: The course will explore the critical significance
of the concept of the rule of law in western thought. A course reader
will provide
selected readings from various sources including selections from Plato’s
Laws, Aristotle’s Politics, and Abraham Lincoln’s
“Lyceum Address.”
We will also read Shakespeare’s most probing examination of
this issue—his
problematic play Measure for Measure. The course will then apply the
lessons garnered
from these sources to contemporary events. The contemporary focus
will be on post
September 11th America—addressing the impact on the rule of law of such
things as the Patriot Act, the Bush administrations’ WOMD
pretense for justifying
the Iraq war, the president’s declaration of war (the
Constitution explicitly
assigns this power to Congress), as well as the administrations
efforts to avoid
existing laws and treaties in its treatment of detainees in Afghanistan, Iraq
and Guantanamo Bay. The objective of the course is not to advance any
particular
political agenda, but to appreciate why the rule of law is necessary in civil
societies, and to see what sorts of activities help to strengthen or undermine
it.
Format: The class will be conducted in seminar style
discussion
format. Class members will be responsible for preparing at least one
brief class
presentation during the course of the quarter (on one of the
readings). Ideally,
there will be one or two guest speakers visiting the class.
Grading:
Grading for the course will be based on 50% active participation, 25%
class presentation,
and 25% short paper (2-3 pages).
About the Instructor: Andrew Majeske is a
Postdoctoral Teaching
and Research Fellow in the Department of English. His research
involves the intersection
of 1aw and literature in the English Renaissance. He came to UC Davis
to perform
his Ph.D. work following an 11-year career as an attorney in Chicago
and Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. He is currently working on the final chapter of the
book he is developing
out of his dissertation. This chapter addresses Shakespeare's
treatment of justice
in The Merchant of Venice and Measure for Measure, particularly the roles mercy
and equity play in an expansive notion of justice.