LAW7 843 - Colloquium: Marriage in Law, Culture, and the Imagination

Marriage is one of the oldest, most enduring, and also most contested of social institutions. It has also been central to cultural understandings and fictional representations across many centuries. What does the law tell us about marriage, and how does this compare to how marriage is shaped in the cultural imagination? Is this an area in which law and culture reinforce one another—or are there conflicts discernable? The colloquium will study law relating to marriage (and related topics, such as love, divorce, paternity, etc.) and will also put the institution of marriage in broad cultural context. The aim is to explore the place of marriage, as legal, social, and cultural aspiration and means of regulation. Materials for study will include fictional texts, cultural analysis, and films, as well as cases from the law.

Credits: 3