Home » Departments and Centres » Academic catalogue » Course detail

Open sidebar menu

Law and Aesthetics (LAW-RT-LAWAES-25)

LAW-RT-LAWAES-25

Purpose

 

Description

This course will explore the complex and often overlooked relationship between law and aesthetics, examining how aesthetic principles shape legal frameworks and, conversely, how legal structures influence aesthetic production and reception. The seminars will deal with the relationship between law and aesthetics by searching for aesthetic values in the law itself (internal perspective), by finding material related to law in art and culture, and, lastly, by demonstrating the impact of legal norms on aesthetics (external perspective).

The law does not function separately from its means of expression, which are incontrovertibly subject to aesthetic interpretation. Thinking about law in this way, perceiving not only the message, but also the manner in which it is conveyed, the whole set of means and tools used, the (im)perfection and beauty (or the lack thereof) of the form, then we will see that law is a sensory experience as much as an intellectual one. Moving beyond traditional legal analysis, we will investigate how the aesthetics of law affect legal categories and might generate new legal relationships, as well as how concepts of beauty or taste intersect with legal concepts such as justice, fairness, and legitimacy. Conversely, by investigating external manifestations of (or against) the law, we will explore what can, for instance, the frescos in the rooms of Palazzo Buontalenti teach us about the laws of their time, how the art contributions of States helped build the Peace Palace after the Second Hague Peace Conference, and how the music of, among others, Bob Marley, Bad Bunny, and Rage Against the Machine highlights legal struggles of their era.

The course will critically analyze how aesthetic considerations are deployed to construct legal narratives, legitimize power structures, and regulate social behavior. We will further examine the visual and rhetorical strategies employed in legal discourse, architectural designs of courthouses and prisons, and the performative aspects of legal rituals. Furthermore, the course delves into the political economy of aesthetics within the legal system, exploring how economic forces shape the production and distribution of legal aesthetics, impacting access to justice. This further necessitates a philosophical inquiry into the art and beauty of jurisprudence, lawgiving and adjudication. In doing so, we will try to clarify the aesthetic dimensions of law and track aesthetic thinking in order to explore to what extent law is aesthetically conditioned and in what sense legal judgments can be seen as aesthetic judgments.

Case studies will span diverse legal fields, including international law, environmental law, criminal justice, and constitutional law, drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives from art history, philosophy, and critical legal theory. Ultimately, this course aims to equip students with the theoretical tools necessary to critically assess the aesthetic dimensions of law and their implications for justice, equality, and social transformation.

Course reading list: https://readinglist.eui.eu/leganto/public/39EUI_INST/lists/2940403260008406?auth=SAML&idpCode=SAML_LEGANTO


First, Second & Third Term: registration from 22 to 26 September 2025

Register for this course