\u3cem\u3e12 Angry Men\u3c/em\u3e Is Not an Archetype: Reflections on the Jury in Contemporary Popular Culture

While 12 Angry Men remains an important cinematic and political work, the film provides an atypical pop cultural portrayal of the jury. Most portrayals are limited and even degrading, a pattern suggesting both a failure to appreciate the jury as an embodiment of popular sovereignty and our society\u27s apolitical self-disenfranchisement

The Communistic Inclinations of Sir Thomas More

The fourth UTOPIA500 presentation was march 10, 2016. Dr. David R. Papke, Professor of Law at Marquette University Law School, received an official Me and Tommy More polo shirt from Dr. Malloy. Dr. Papke then spoke about The Communistic Inclinations of Sir Thomas More. A well-known scholar of legal history and law in popular culture, Dr. Papke noted the affinity that existed between the themes in Utopia and the views of Karl Marx as well as those of leaders of the Bolshevik Revolution. He also explored the problem of competing approaches to literary analysis and criticism - whether to seek out an author\u27s intentions or the resonance of a work among its readers over time. This prompted a lively discussion with the Law and Literature students about the continuing impact and relevance of Utopia, 500 years after its first publication

Understanding Rights in Contemporary American Discourse

A review of Legal Rights: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives edited by Austin Sarat and Thomas R. Kearn

The Black Panther Party\u27s Narratives of Resistance

Papke’s article illustrates the power and importance of personal storytelling. To illustrate his point, Papke focuses on the personal narratives of Huey Newton, Bobby Seale and Eldridge Cleaver; important leaders in the development of the Black Panther Party. Papke uses their personal narratives as a means to explain their ideological underpinnings as well as their condemnation of the police department as an oppressive institution. The article also demonstrates how narratives can be illustrative of countering social pressures. In this case those interested in resisting the dominating influence of one group may benefit from the narratives of these individuals

All It Ever Does Is Rain: Bruce Springsteen and the Alienation of Labor

The popular singer and songwriter Bruce Springsteen is a product of the working-class family, and his songs often creatively capture not only working-class life but also workers\u27 alienation from their labor. In an unsystematic way, Springsteen\u27s lyrics portray how modern workers are alienated from the products of their labor, the process of working, other workers, and ultimately, from themselves. Although Springsteen primarily has blue-collar, industrial workers in mind, his thoughts on the alienation of labor continue to have relevance for workers in the American consumer society and in the contemporary global economy as well