Literature and Human Rights: The Law, the Language and the Limitations of Human Rights Discourse (Law & Literature, 9)

The idea of human rights is not new. But the importance of taking rights seriously has never been more urgent. The eighteen essays which comprise Literature and Human Rights are written as a contribution to this vital debate. Each moreover is written in the spirit of interdisciplinarity, reaching across the myriad constitutive disciplines of law, literature and the humanities in order to present an array of alternative perspectives on the nature and meaning of human rights in the modern world. The taking of human rights seriously, it will be suggested, depends just as much on taking seriously the idea of the human as it does the idea of rights. Introduction: Literature And Human Rights : Interdisciplinary Reflections On The Law, The Language And The Limitations Of Human Rights Discourse -- Empathy, Literature And Human Rights : The Case Of Elliot Perlman, The Street Sweeper / Helle Porsdam -- Privacy, Blighted Lives, And A Blindspot In British Law / Richard Mullender -- A Squeamishness About Existing : Fernando Pessoa's Quiet Rejection Of The Human In The Book Of Disquiet / Maria Aristodemou -- I And Another : Rethinking The Subject Of Human Rights With Dostoyevsky, Bakhtin And Simondon / Riccardo Baldissone -- Dehumanizing The Enemy : How To Avoid Human Rights / Daniela Carpi -- Am I Not A Man And A Brother? Notes On The Representation Of Slavery In Eighteenth Century English Art And Literature / Patrizia Nerozzi Bellman -- Mental Illness And Human Rights In Patrick Mcgrath's Asylum / Charia Battisti -- The Role Of Forensics In Human Rights Discourse : Kathy Reich's Crime Fiction And The Rights Of The Dead / Sidia Fiorato -- Rumpole And The Rights Of Accused Terrorists / Roxanne Barbara Doerr -- Reality, Theatre And Human Rights / Carla Dente -- The Rights And Wrongs Of Marriage : Article 16.2 Udhr And The Case Of Edith Dombey -- Manju Kapur's Difficult Daughters And The Cause Of Female Literacy In India / Paola Carbone -- The Trial Of Jomo Kenyatta By Montagu Slater : Oral Tradition And Fundamental Rights In The Trial / Lisa Lanzoni -- 'n Droë Wit Seisoen In Die Stormkaap : André Brink And The Fundamental Rights Of The Afrikaners In Apartheid South Africa / Matteo Nicolini -- The Definition Of Linguistic Minority : Linguistic Versus Legal Perspectives / Alessandra Tomaselli And Lino Panzeri -- Rights Of Humans/rights Of Nature : The Language Of Environmental Rights In Un Documents / Valentina Adami -- On Crimes, Punishments, And Words : Legal And Language Issues In Cesare Beccaria's Works / Mara Logaldo -- Dignity And Disgrace In Law And Literature / Jeanne Gaakeer. Edited By Ian Ward. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The interdisciplinary series "Law & Literature" takes a systematic look at the correlation between literature and the law. The studies presented in this series analyze the complex interrelation between two cultural spheres which are not only at the basis of Western Culture and Society, but share in a common focus on texts. Bringing together contributions by jurists, historians of law, legal philosophers, and specialists in literary and cultural studies, this series reflects a trend in current inter- and transdisciplinary research which has recently shown rapid growth both in Europe and the United States The idea of human rights is not new. But the importance of taking human rights seriously has never been more urgent than it is today. The eighteen essays which comprise Literature and Human Rights are written in a spirit of interdisciplinarity, and are intended to make a signficant contribution to this vital and enduring debate. The idea of human rights is not new. But the importance of taking human rights seriously has never been more urgent than it is today. This book includes eighteen essays that are written in a spirit of interdisciplinarity, and are intended to make a significant contribution to this vital and enduring debate.