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Unit of Study JUST2006 - Shifting Cultural Paradigms: Law & Literature After Postmodernism (2021)

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Unit Snapshot

  • Enrolment information

    Requires attendance at intensive face-to-face classes.

Unit description

Introduces students to the cultural paradigms of the 21st century and cultural evolution theory. The relationship between law, literature and culture in a post modern world is examined. Students analyse literary works using cultural evolution theory.  

Unit content

Topic 1: What happened after Postmodernism?

Topic 2: Cultural Evolution and the Darwinian Renaissance

Topic 3: Law and Literature as Cultural Products

Topic 4: Man, or the storytelling animal

Topic 5: Meme 1 – Truth

Topic 6: Meme 2 – Guilt

Topic 7: Meme 3 – Language

Topic 8: Meme 4 – The Other

Availabilities

Not currently available in 2021

Learning outcomes

Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.

On completion of this unit, students should be able to:

explain the complexities at the basis of the current debate on the end of postmodernism

identify, compare and criticise the alternative paradigms theorised as a follow-up to postmodernism

understand the basic concepts of memetic theory and apply them to a variety of cultural phenomena

explain the relationship between law, literature and culture through the lenses of cultural evolution theories

understand the cultural, legal and literary memetic implications in the novels used as case studies.