Legal Narratives: European Perspectives on U. S. Law in Cultural Context

Over the past two decades the interdisciplinary research and teaching field Law and the Humanities has established itself, especially at American universities. It provides new approaches to legal systems from the perspective of various disciplines of the humanities and places relations and connections within a cultural context. Based on this interdisciplinary approach, this volume offers contributions to a whole variety of U.S. legal issues - from the birth of the Constitution to tort law and criminal justice. From their perspective of the Austrian legal system, legal scholars deal with various aspects of legal theory and practice while Americanists analyze characteristics of this legal system in their cultural context, drawing on historical documents as well as on literature and film. The book presents an exciting European perspective on this transatlantic legal complexity upon the background of its culture and history. Based on the new interdisciplinary subject of Law and the Humanities, this volume analyzes a variety of U.S. legal issues from the perspective of the Austrian legal system, and vice versa, drawing on historical documents as well as on literature and film.