A01=Desmond Manderson
aesthetics
argument
argumentation
Author_Desmond Manderson
Category=QDTQ
Category=QDTS
composition
creative nonfiction
cultural studies
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
form
justice
law
legal argument
legal brief
legal interpretation
legal precedence
legal text
legal writing
literary criticism
living constitution
living law
metaphor
music
music theory
musical forms
narrative structure
narrative theory
nonfiction
philosophy
political theory
rhetoric
symbolism
text
writing
Product details
- ISBN 9780520216884
- Weight: 635g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 03 Oct 2000
- Publisher: University of California Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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In this pathbreaking and provocative analysis of the aesthetics of law, the historian, legal theorist, and musician Desmond Manderson argues that by treating a text, legal or otherwise, as if it were merely a sequence of logical propositions, readers miss its formal and symbolic meanings. Creatively using music as a model, he demonstrates that law is not a sterile, rational structure, but a cultural form to be valued and enhanced through rhetoric and metaphors, form, images, and symbols. To further develop this argument, the book is divided into chapters, each of which is based on a different musical form. Law, for Manderson, should strive for neither coherence nor integrity. Rather, it is imperfectly realized, constantly reinterpreted, and always in flux. Songs without Music is written in an original, engaging, and often humorous style, and exhibits a deep knowledge of both law and music. It successfully traverses several disciplines and builds an original and persuasive argument for a legal aesthetic. The book will appeal to a broad readership in law, political theory, literary criticism, and cultural studies.
Desmond Manderson is Senior Lecturer and Director of the Julius Stone Institute for Jurisprudence in the Faculty of Law at the University of Sydney, Australia.
