Rivers and robots as legal subjects? An imaginary encounter between Critical Theory and Law in four acts

This chapter is a scholarly play in four acts. The play is based on a series of discussions between three legal researchers (Van Dijk, Epstein and De Vries) and a cultural theorist (Goriunova), which focus on the notions of the subject, person, legal personhood and subjectivity in relation to newer developments in both law (cases which granted legal personhood to rivers and valleys and debates concerning personhood of artificial intelligence) and critical theory (posthumanities and the critique of the subject). Here, personified Law and Critical Theory argue, try to work together, watch fictional courtroom footage and formulate problems, exploring the limits of their discourses and fields of action.