>
>Call for Papers
>Critical Legal Studies: Ideology and Objectivity in Law
>A Panel Discussion at the Sixth International Literature and Humanities =
>Conference,
>
>Inscriptions in the Sand: an arts and culture conference and festival
>
>at Eastern Mediterranean University
>
>in Famagusta, on the island of Cyprus
>
>May 30-June 1, 2003
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>The Critical Legal Studies (CLS) movement that crystallized in the =
>United States in the late 1970s and 1980s brought together aspects of =
>European social theories (Marx, Weber, Gramsci, the Frankfurt school, =
>etc.), French post-structuralism and literary theory (Foucault, =
>Derrida), and various threads of North American jurisprudence=97in =
>particular the legal realism of the New Deal era, which argued against =
>the formal artificiality of legal case precedents and in favor of =
>informed judgments based on the contextualization of law as social =
>policy.
>
>Arguing that law (with its attendant institutions and representatives) =
>is not neutral or objective, but legitimizes the prejudicial power =
>relations and hierarchical structures of class, economics, gender, and =
>race in the society by which it is itself determined, legitimized and =
>maintained, the various branches of CLS have engaged in critiques of the =
>law understood as narrative or as a rhetorical-ideological =
>construct=97with a view to demystifying and dismantling the social =
>structures of injustice which inform its doctrines and policies.
>
>             Although CLS developed in a specifically North American =
>context, many of its premises and questions have gradually filtered into =
>European and international law; the island of Cyprus, entangled in =
>decades of international power games, political/religious intrigue and =
>legal wrangling, presents itself as a fitting venue for debating some of =
>the problems and promises of the law in its relation to lived experience =
>in a global context:
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>=97  what points of intersection exist between literary and legal =
>judgments?
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>=97  what defines, delimits, or authorizes the will of the mysterious =
>=93international community=94 which is frequently invoked in various =
>contexts as grounds for international military or political action?
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>=97  what determines the relations between the politics of nations, the =
>law of nations, and justice or fairness?
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>=97  by what logic do treaties, agreements, obligations and promises =
>retain legal force if the historical, social, and political =
>circumstances under which they were made have changed?
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>=97  to what extent, if any, can the engagement of Derridean =
>deconstruction or versions of =93postmodernism=94 with legal theory =
>result in the development of norms for social change and development?=20
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>=97 does law require moral justification in normative terms (Habermas) =
>or is it an autopoietic system requiring no normative justification =
>(Luhmann)?
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>Submissions are invited for a Panel Discussion exploring any of these =
>questions or others related to CLS, including its ramifications for =
>European and International Law, and the situation of Cyprus.=20
>
>Prospective panelists are invited to send 250-word abstracts/proposals =
>for 15-20 minute presentations on any aspect of these areas to =
>[log in to unmask] or [log in to unmask] by 30 October, =
>2002. We look forward to learning about your research, and to a =
>provocative discussion.
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>For more information about Inscriptions in the Sand,=20
>
>please visit our website at http://www.emu.edu.tr/elh/index_confer.html  =
>
>
>Please also check out our links to =93Individual Research =
>Presentations=94 and =93Creative/Performance Work.=94