Exploring the political impact of literature and literary studies in American government【翻译】

Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I would like to thank my thesis committee. Thank you to John
Staunton for your insight, for steering me through this process, and for everything I learned in
your American Literature course where I began to realize how literature can reflect a nation’s
values in fascinating and powerful ways. Thank you to Elisabeth Däumer for being the most
unbelievably tireless advocate for my growth and success as a scholar. From my acceptance into
the literature program to the completion of this master’s thesis, you have gone above and beyond
the call of duty to support me every step of the way. This thesis was born from your Literary
Criticism course and could not exist without the freedom you gave me to fearlessly try out ideas
that were unconventional and often messy. I would also like to thank all of my other teachers
along the way—both professors and peers—who have allowed me the time and space to be quiet
and think deeply, while inspiring me to speak up and write boldly.
I would like to thank my family. Thank you to my mom for teaching me to love fiction
and how to write creatively and with conviction, and to my dad for giving me every
encouragement and opportunity in the world to pursue the things I love. Finally, thank you to
Andi, my greatest cheerleader in everything I do. Thank you for proofreading papers, keeping
me company through long nights of writing, and being forever willing to hear what I have to say.
iv
Abstract
This thesis explores the role of literature and practices of literary study in American government.
Specifically, it looks at how the President’s Council on Bioethics (PCBE) and the Supreme Court
have deliberately embraced the humanities to fulfill their respective responsibilities. I begin by
examining the interpretive practices these groups employ, then turn to lists of recommended
reading published by the PCBE and Justice Anthony Kennedy. I investigate how their
endorsements of texts such as Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, My Antonia,
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and To Kill a Mockingbird promote certain constructions of
traditional American values that are central to the choices these government organizations make.
To close, I draw from the work of Martha Nussbaum to show how the lessons the PCBE and
Justice Kennedy take from this fiction translate into executive orders, legislation, and legal
opinions that shape public policy in America.
v
Table of Contents
Dedication....................................................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgments......................................................................................................................... iii
Abstract.......................................................................................................................................... iv
Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 1
Chapter One: Assessing the Literary Court:
The American Marriage of High Culture and High Law.................................................... 5
Chapter Two: Is Being Human Enough?
The President’s Council on Bioethics’ Literary Construction of Dignity........................ 22
Chapter Three: Applying Literature’s Lessons............................................................................. 41
The President’s Council on Bioethics............................................................................... 43
Justice Anthony Kennedy and the Supreme Court........................................................... 48
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................... 53
Works Cited.................................................................................................................................. 54