Publisher's Synopsis
This volume takes issue with such certainties as the "facts" of law, drawing its inspiration from a diverse range of legal "stories", and from famous engagements between the law and literature. Contributors look at a wide selection of material: the work of Dickens, Wilkie Collins and Salman Rushdie; the mysteries of modern detective fiction; witch hunts and "The Crucible"; the case of Oscar Wilde; and myths of the Father, the Constitution and the Nation.;The law and the legal system are based on the idea that there is a clearly established borderline between truth and fiction, and that truth can be established beyond doubt. This is in spite of the fact that the law itself is steeped in myth and tradition.;"New Formations" is a journal of cultural debate, history and theory. It brings new and challenging perspectives to bear on the categories that frame cultural analysis and political action. The journal has covered issues ranging from the seduction of perversity to questions of nationalism and post-colonialism. Contributors open up new zones of enquiry whilst drawing new charts of understanding to explain new formations in contemporary life.;"New Formations" brings together in one volume both established and new writers from many walks of critical life. Past contributors have included: Parveen Adams, Nomi Bhabha, Slavoj Zizek, Susan Buck-Morss, Gillian Rose, Jacqueline Rose, Zygmunt Bauman and Christopher Norris.
