In the spring 2024 Legal Humanities series, we will explore radical legal theorists often considered too controversial for courses or the canon itself. By examining proposals for how law should be structured through seminal thinkers stretching from imperial Russia to present day California — such as Peter Kropotkin, Carl Schmitt, Joseph de Maistre, and others — we will consider in turn what these theories suggest about the broader shape of humanity. Is the human person inherently good or evil? How should we structure a legal system from these premises? What about these theories has been found to be appealing to adherents inside or outside the academy? Join us as we explore legal theories from anarcho-communism to theocratic monarchism and everything in between.
Schedule: Mondays, 12:00 pm to 1:15 pm.
January 22 (Jerome Frank and Legal Realism), taught by Professor Mitchell Berman.
January 29 (Robert Gordon and Critical Legal Studies), taught by Professor Jasmine Harris.
February 5 (John Hasnas and a Market for Law), taught by Professor John Hasnas.
February 12 (Joseph de Maistre and Theocratic Monarchism), taught by Dr. John Peter DiIulio.
February 19 (Peter Kropotkin and Abolition of Law), taught by Professor Loren Goldman.
February 26 (Carl Schmitt and the Exception), taught by Professor Warren Breckman.
Applications are now closed. Thank you for your interest.
Please direct any questions to Kate Whitaker (kwhitaker@collegiuminstitute.org).