The Contemporary Landscape of Narrations and Jurisprudence: The Legal Imagination and Nomos and Narrative half a century later

Abstract

Abstract In 1973, James Boyd White published The Legal Imagination, broadly credited with the foundation of a new discipline, law and literature, which underlined the importance of narratives in legal thinking and practice. A decade later, in an introduction to the review of the 1982 SCOTUS term, Robert Cover identified the need for further discussion regarding the close connection between norms and narratives. ‘Nomos and Narrative’ set a precedent by launching a more in-depth investigation into the role of stories as the foundation of normativity and its participation in dealing with competing normative claims. Since then, various strands of jurisprudence have struggled with the view of law as a set of interpretive commitments. By taking a closer look at both, this article reflects on the relevance and significance of these texts half a century later. As the article argues, despite a significant following among the scholars, the arguments posed by White and Cover did not find broad implementation in the juridico-political systems around the world. On the contrary, the opposite tendencies seem to dominate today. Thus, the article reflects on the contemporary relevance of both texts in critical, constructive, and explorative terms.