The Center in Law, Society and Culture brings together UC Irvine faculty and graduate students who share interests in law, society, and culture, broadly defined. Issues of interest to center affiliates include race, law and justice; law and literature; critical legal theory; legal consciousness; law and space; legal philosophy, culture and policing; the interaction of local and international legal cultures; globalization; migration; knowledge production; law, science, and society; and law and history. The center sponsors Symposia in Critical Legalities, discussions of participants' work, workshops, colloquia, a graduate fellows program, and other activities that foster intellectual dialogue relating to issues in law, society, and culture. All Center symposia and colloquia are free and open to the campus community and the public.
Critical Legalities Symposia
The Center in Law, Society and Culture holds quarterly Critical Legalities Symposia. By "critical legalities," we refer to (1) ways that law is critical to cutting edge theory, (2) new forms of analysis, and (3) examinations of forms of law that undergird established institutions, structures, and cultural phenomena. Symposia focus on a particular theme, feature presentations by UCI faculty and outside speakers, and include a workshop structured around central issues. Themes for 2008-2009 included "Red Cents and Indian Country: Native Claims to Things," "The Human Faces of the War on Terror," and "Covering Law."
Symposia for 2009-2010 are built around the broad theme of "law beyond the written word," and include: "Covering the Law: Documenting Justice in Picture, Performance and Press" (Fall 2009), "Youth and Digital Culture" (Winter 2010), "Law as History: Theory and Method in Legal History" (Spring 2010), and "Visualizing 'Governing Through Crime' in California" (Spring 2010).
Center Meetings
We hold 2-3 center meetings per year. At these meetings, we read and discuss a recent publication or work-in-progress of one of our affiliates. The author briefly describes and contextualizes his or her work, and then another center member (typically, from a different discipline) serves as discussant, providing comments and raising questions. The discussant’s comments are followed by a more general discussion. These meetings are open to other interested faculty and students who are not members of our center, and typically occur over lunch.
Other Activities
The Center in Law, Society and Culture also sponsors colloquia, workshops, a graduate fellows program, and graduate student reading groups.
Upcoming Events
Please see the events calendar for more details.
- Fall 2009
- November 9-10, 2009 Critical Legalities Symposium: Covering the Law: Documenting Justice in Picture, Performance and Press. Full schedule here.
- November 16, 2009, 12-2 PM, SE II 2372 Center Meeting: Susan Coutin (CLS), "Falling Outside: Lawyering, Central Americans, and the Boundaries of Political Asylum," Rachel O'Toole (History), discussant.
- Winter 2010
- January 13, 2010, 12:00-2:00 PM, Center Meeting: Angela Garcia (Anthropology), "Addictive Properties: Intergenerational Heroin Use and the Mark of Inheritance,” Donna Schuele (CLS), discussant.
- January 28, 2010 Critical Legalities Workshop: Youth and Digital Culture
- Spring 2010
- Law As History: Theory and Method in Legal History (Co-sponsored event with UCI School of Law)
- Symposium: Visualizing Governing Through Crime in California
Funding for the center's 2009-2010 activities has been generously provided by the Department of Criminology, Law and Society, the School of Humanities, the School of Law, the School of Social Ecology, the School of Social Sciences, the Office of Research and Jim Peterson & Microsemi.
For more information, contact the Center in Law, Society and Culture's co-director, Mona Lynch at lynchm@uci.edu or (949) 824-0047.