Law and the Utopian Imagination (The Amherst Series in Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought)

Synopsis

Law And The Utopian Imagination Seeks To Explore And Resuscitate The Notion Of Utopianism Within Current Legal Discourse. The Idea Of Utopia Has Fascinated The Imaginations Of Important Thinkers For Ages. And Yet - Who Writes Seriously On The Idea Of Utopia Today? The Mid-century Critique Appears To Have Carried The Day, And A Belief In The Very Possibility Of Utopian Achievements Appears To Have Flagged In The Face Of A World Marked By Political Instability, Social Upheaval, And Dreary Market Realities. Instead Of Mapping Out The Contours Of A Familiar Terrain, This Book Seeks To Explore The Possibilities Of A Productive Engagement Between The Utopian And The Legal Imagination. The Book Asks: Is It Possible To Re-imagine Or Revitalize The Concept Of Utopia Such That It Can Survive The Terms Of The Mid-century Liberal Critique? Alternatively, Is It Possible To Re-imagine The Concept Of Utopia And The Theory Of Liberal Legality So As To Dissolve The Apparent Antagonism Between The Two? In Charting Possible Answers To These Questions, The Present Volume Hopes To Revive Interest In A Vital Topic Of Inquiry Too Long Neglected By Both Social Thinkers And Legal Scholars--unedited Summary From Book Cover. Law And The Utopian Imagination : An Introduction / Lawrence Douglas, Austin Sarat, And Martha Merrill Umphrey -- The One And Only Law : Walter Benjamin, Utopianism And The Second Commandment / James R. Martel -- Law, Utopia, Event : A Constellation Of Two Trajectories / Johan Van Der Walt -- What About Peace? : Cotton Mather's Millennium And The Rise Of International Law / Nan Goodman -- Globus Terraqueus : Cosmopolitan Law And Fluid Geography In The Utopian Thinking Of Immanuel Kant And Joseph-pierre Proudhon / Diane Morgan -- Dystopian Narratives And Legal Imagination : Tales Of Noir Cities And Dark Laws / Shulamit Almog. Edited By Austin Sarat, Lawrence Douglas, Martha Merrill Umphrey. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.