Joseph S. Jenkins: Inheritance Law and Political Theology: From Early Modern Cultural Criticism to Current Inheritance Law Critique

This talk presents a monograph of Jenkins recently issued by Ashgate Publishing (U.K. and U.S.A.): Inheritance Law and Political Theology in Shakespeare and Milton: Election and Grace in Early Modern Literature and Beyond. The book gives evidence that Shakespeare's plays reflect a consistent attitude toward Last-Will enforcement — and that this has something to do with proximity to the late-medieval crisis of belief in omnipotent divine will (nominalism). Shakespeare and Milton represent distinct cultural moments, each at a different remove from this nominalist trauma.
Ultimately, Jenkins argues, our continued fascination with these two poets owes something to their attitudes toward Last Will — although we have repressed the connection with nominalism and God's will.
The book joins this insight with arguments aimed at legal academics who write on property theory.

Biographical Information
Joseph S. Jenkins is Research Associate at the University of California, Irvine. He has taught Wills, Trusts, and Estates at the UCI School of Law and various courses in Shakespeare, Milton, and critical theory in the UCI Department of English. Jenkins holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from UCLA and a doctorate in law (J.D.) from UC Berkeley.