The Past and the Future of
Thursday, May 22, 2:00pm - 7:30pm in UTC+01
Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS, University of London, London
The School of Law at SOAS invites you to a conference that honors Professor Duncan Kennedy, one of the most influential legal theorists and left critics of our time. After teaching for more than four decades at Harvard Law School, Professor Kennedy announced his intention to retire. Kennedy’s brilliant contributions have challenged our thinking on law and its role in society. He never shied away from controversy and engaged in a variety of academic and political debates. Admirably, he was able to commit simultaneously to both an intellectual critique and left-wing politics, without the political stifling critique or the latter undermining the political. In addition, Professor Kennedy was not content with offering critique and deconstruction, as some of his writings included highly specific and programmatic proposals.
Program
14:00 – 14:05 WELCOME NOTE
Paul Kohler, Head of School, School of Law, SOAS
14:05 - 15:35 KEYNOTE: LEFT POLITICS AND LEFT LEGAL THEORY—STRANGE BEDFELLOWS?
Duncan Kennedy, Carter Professor of General Jurisprudence, Harvard Law School
Moderator: Professor Matthew Craven, Dean, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, SOAS
Discussant: Professor Costas Douzinas, School of Law, Birkbek
15:35 -16:00 REFRESHMENTS
16:00-17:30 ENCOUNTERS WITH CRITICAL LEGAL STUDIES
A reasonable man: Duncan Kennedy, Law and Feminist Critique
Professor Joanne Conaghan, University of Bristol Law School
Critical Legal Studies and Post-modernism
Dr. Raef Zreik, Minerva Center, Tel Aviv University
Critical Legal Studies and Development Studies
Dr. Dina Waked, Sciences Po
Moderator: Professor Lynn Welchman, School of Law, SOAS
Discussant: Dr. Brenna Bhandar, Senior Lecturer, School of Law, SOAS
17:30 – 18:00 COFFEE BREAK
18:00 – 19:30 LEGAL LEFT & LEFT POLITICS – TENSIONS AND POSSIBILITIES
Contingency in the Deep Legal Structure of Market Societies
Professor Hugh Collins, All Souls College, Oxford University
"Legal Education as a Training for Hierarchy" - Revisited
Professor Nicola Lacey, London School of Economics and Political Science
Critique, Faith, and Politics
Professor Roy Kreitner, Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University
Moderator: Dr. Prabha Kotiswaran, Senior Lecturer, King`s College London
Discussant: Dr. Gina Heathcote, Senior Lecturer, School of Law, SOAS
19:30-19:35
CONCLUDING REMARKS BY CONFERENCE ORGANIZER
Dr. Nimer Sultany, Lecturer, School of Law, SOAS
Registration
Tickets for £11 (non-students)/
£5.50 (students, unemployed and pensioners) Concessions. Please book at http://www.wegottickets.
FREE for SOAS Students and Staff. Please R.S.V.P. at soaslawconference@gmail.com
Contact Info
Nimer Sultany, Lecturer, School of Law, SOAS: ns30@soas.ac.uk
Tara Mahfoud, Conference Assistant: tara.mahfoud@gmail.com