Lawyers tell stories, usually other people's stories. Of course they are increasingly doing this on film. The digital space is filled with law-related non-fiction films that can be used in legal procedures. And more and more lawyers become film producers or even film makers themselves.To develop legal arguments visually one should know the rules, know the debates.
Lawyers must learn to read films and other multimodal texts and respond to them. Media scholars should explore the legal world. Both need to have the critical tools to analyze what such films do, what they tell, how they convince.In this course we welcome lawyers, law students as well as students in media theory, film theory, social psychology, sociology, semiotic studies and other academic students who are fascinated by visuals in legal advocacy.
Students who lack a legal background can follow two special workshops to discover the basics of this secret world. Students who lack knowledge of the semiotics of film can follow two special workshops to train the basics of film analysis. Together we shall set about the multidisciplinary debate.In the course we discuss literature, explore significant examples and seize many design issues. The course is a mixture of theory, analysis and practical design. The participants will visualize parts of a legal file. This can be designing and producing a mini-documentary (about 5 minutes) or creating another advanced graphic argumentative element.
Period
20-07-2012 - 31-08-2012 (6 weeks)
Target group
Lawyers, law students as well as students in media theory, film theory, social psychology, sociology, semiotic studies and other academic students who are fascinated by visuals in legal advocacy.
Course aim
Students develop a theoretical insight in the rhetoric of visual arguments compared to verbal arguments and are able to relate this to aspects of legal procedures (formal as well as ideological.
Students are able to produce a form analysis of a visually presented argument (mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, sound) and relate this to a rhetorical analysis (argument structure, subtexts, pathos). Students can basically design a visual text (argument design, shooting script, storyboard, logistics) and produce a visual text (basics of editing and postproduction).
Credits
3.0 ECTS credits
Certificate of Attendance
Course fee
EUR 875: Course + course materials + housing
Course leader
Prof. dr. mr. Paul van den Hoven
Scholarships
Utrecht Summer School doesn't offer scholarships for this course.
Utrecht University
Address: PO BOX 80148
Postal code: 3508 TC
City: Utrecht
Country: Netherlands
Website: http://www.utrechtsummerschool.nl
E-mail: summerschool@uu.nl
Phone: 0031302534400
Visual Legal Advocacy
