The journal Critical Studies in Improvisation/Études critiques en improvisation has issued a call for papers for its special issues on Lex Non Scripta, Ars Non Scripta: Law, Justice and Improvisation. The deadline for submission is Dec. 15, 2009.

The issue results from the ICASP conference of the same name, held in Montreal in June. Its premise was: Improvisation is an important art form and an artistic and cultural phenomenon – a manner of speaking, a way of being, and a realm of experience. For theorists, improvisation as a practice and as an idea raises questions not just about how law comes to describe, judge, and regulate improvisation, but the converse – how improvisation might describe, judge, and regulate the law. What does or should law tell us about improvisation? What does or should improvisation tell us about law?

Possible topics include (but are not limited to) the legal status of improvised music, music sampling as improvisation, the law of improvisation, legal decision-making as improvisation, ruling law, improvising justice, improvisation and legal precedent, improvisation and legal/social change, informal norm development as improvisation, improvisation and art/law and improvisation, the normative space(s) for improvisation, justice and improvisation (or Justice as improvisation), the sounding of social justice, and the law of the singular event.

Critical Studies in Improvisation/Études critiques en improvisation is an open-access, peer-reviewed, electronic, academic journal on improvisation, community, and social practice housed at the University of Guelph. The editorial and advisory boards are made up of leading international scholars spanning diverse disciplines. CSI/ECI seeks to reveal the complex structures of improvisational practices and to develop an enriched understanding of the social, political, and cultural functions those practices play.

Please consult the Author Guidelines: www.criticalimprov.com