The Law, Philosophy and Social Theory Colloquium is jointly presented by the University of Michigan Philosophy Department and the School of Law. This Fall, the Colloquium will be co-hosted by Sarah Moss, who serves as the William Wilhartz Professor of Philosophy and Professor of Law, and Nicolas Cornell, who serves as Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy. Accordingly, the class is composed of a mix of philosophy graduate students and law students. Additionally, the public session will welcome faculty members from the philosophy department, the law school, the history department, the Ross School of Business and the African-American Studies department, among others.
The Colloquium convenes each week on Thursday afternoons. In one week, students and the conveners will meet for close discussion of a work in progress by leading or emerging voices in the fields of legal theorist, moral or political philosophy. The follow week, the authors will join the Colloquium in the public session to present the paper to the group, which consists of students, faculty from the Law School and other departments of University of Michigan and faculty from other universities. The choice of subject is left to the paper’s author, within the general boundaries of the Colloquium’s subjects, and the discussions are therefore not connected by any structured theme for the term as a whole, though in past years certain central topics were canvassed in several weeks’ discussion. The Colloquium aims, not to pursue any particular subject, but to explore new work in considerable depth and so allow students to develop their own skill in theoretical analysis. The Colloquium is also ideal for students considering future academic work or careers.