Dramatists have long recognized the implicit dramatic nature of a courtroom trial. This course will look at three twentieth century plays that prompted men and women to become lawyers—even Supreme Court Justices. Once trained, those same lawyers will often qualify their connection to a legal drama: “but of course that’s not really how a trial works.” We will study both how dramatists represent (or misrepresent) law and how their dramas inspire an audience’s pursuit of “the truth.” Our plays will be Inherit the Wind (Jerome Lawrence); Twelve Angry Men (Reginald Rose); A Few Good Men (Aaron Sorkin).
INSTRUCTOR: Helen Whall - After finishing her Ph.D. at Yale University, Helen joined the faculty at The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. There she taught Shakespeare and the Renaissance as well as modern drama, frequently writing on both subjects. Since retiring in 2017, Helen has offered several courses for WISE.
REQUIRED BOOKS: Inherit the Wind, Twelve Angry Men, A Few Good Men (any edition for all books)
