ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the literary and historical images of scientific expertise in law, lies at the intersection of the three aforementioned interdisciplinary projects: law and science, law and literature, and literature and science. The book, in an indirect fashion due to its attention to presumably marginal literary and historical sources, focuses on and questions some of the contemporary images of science in law. Literature-and-science studies are based in part on the notion, likewise controversial, that popular culture images of science and scientist have the power to change public perceptions of the scientific enterprise, influence government policy, inspire future scientists, affect research support and funding, and even create public consensus concerning a particular scientific theory.
