Faculty Publications

Body

Document Type

Book Chapter

Keywords

Body, Corpse, Gender, Legal personhood, Posthuman, Race

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Law and Literature

First Page

49

Last Page

52

Abstract

This entry defines the body in law and examines historical challenges to legal personhood. It surveys legal concepts that excluded rights based on gendered and racialized bodies; provides a review of critical studies that interrogate bodies, legitimacy, and legal representation; and introduces theoretical concepts of bodily regulation that inform literary critique of laws governing the body. Referencing legal writers and cases, authors such as Mary Shelley, Charles Dickens, and Henry Fielding, and current debates surrounding bodies and law, the entry establishes that legal and literary definitions and interpretations of the body and legal personhood are susceptible to change, revision, and critique.

Department

Department of Languages and Literatures

Original Publication Date

1-7-2025

DOI of published version

10.4337/9781803925912.ch14

Link to Full Text

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