The Faculty of Law begins its literature seminar with a work in Catalan by Melchor Comes

PalmThe Faculty of Law at the University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) has launched the first Seminar on Literature and Law, an initiative that aims to build bridges between legal thought and literary creation. The course opened with a session dedicated to The man who sold the world, A work in Catalan by the writer Melchor Comes, who shared his reflections with the students on the relationship between law, power, and narrative.

The activity, organized as a complementary proposal within the Law studies, aims to foster dialogue between disciplines and offer future lawyers a more humanistic education. The students read various works and, based on them, debated justice, responsibility, and the moral dilemmas present in literature.

High participation

Melcior Comes, the book's author, celebrated the students' interest: "Many students have shown interest. Everything has been done in Catalan. We've discussed the legal aspects of the book, which deal with electoral processes, and..." big data and various issues. The students were very interested in learning how books are written and where ideas come from."

For her part, Dr. Aina Salom, Dean of the Faculty of Law, highlighted the importance of this initiative in enriching legal training: "It's a seminar on literature and law. Students must read four texts; it's a complementary activity through which we want law and literature to engage in dialogue, and for our legal professionals to have a more comprehensive education."

Salom celebrated the fact that this first session was conducted in Catalan, and stated that the intention is to gradually alternate between Catalan and Spanish to respect the co-official status of the languages and, at the same time, promote the use of Catalan within the Faculty, a project to which she has dedicated efforts since the beginning of her term. "We have funding from the Institute of Balearic Studies (IEB) to promote the language," the dean stated. This funding has been used, among other things, to promote the subject of Legal Catalan.

The seminar represents a step forward in the Faculty's commitment to promoting interdisciplinarity and to asserting the role of language and culture as essential tools for understanding and practicing law with a more critical and humanistic perspective.

The schedule

The Law School's series of literary seminars will continue in the coming weeks with three new sessions dedicated to reflecting on literature and law, coordinated by several professors from the school. The second session will take place on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., and will be led by Professor Carmen Tomás-Valiente Lanuza, who will guide the reading and discussion of the work. Punishment, by Ferdinand von Schirach.

The third seminar will take place on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, at the same time, under the responsibility of Dean Salom, who will propose an analysis of the novel The Autumn of the Patriarchby Gabriel García Márquez. Finally, the fourth and last one this year will take place on Wednesday, April 29, 2025, also from 3 to 5 p.m., and will be led by Professor Bartomeu Trias Prats, with the reading of The Juvenile Lawby Ian McEwan.