Print this page

Colloquia

Close-Up: Colloquium in Legal Philosophy

The hugely popular Colloquium in Legal, Political and Social Philosophy is led by legal philosophers Professors Ronald Dworkin and Thomas Nagel. Rigorous in its format, the colloquium serves as the blueprint from which others at the Law School, and beyond, have been designed.

The reputations of the colloquium’s leaders are such that they have been able to persuade some of the biggest names in the field to come. A few: Jürgen Habermas, Kathleen Sullivan, Thomas Scanlon, and Peter Singer.

As a result of these stars—and the established tradition of the highest level of discussion—the colloquium, and the Law School itself, has become the hottest ticket in legal and moral philosophy.

Speakers present their works-in progress. “This brings current scholarship before the students,” says Scanlon, a frequent guest from Harvard. And it sometimes even prompts the presenter to change aspects of his or her work, as Scanlon once did after a question from a student. “By the end, you feel truly worked over,” he says. “But it’s challenging and that’s what one wants.” Adds Dworkin: “The people who come to it are, I think, almost uniformly gratefuI. I offer a paper myself each year. It’s the best criticism I’ve ever had.”

At New York University School of Law, Colloquia are meta-seminars, in which small groups of faculty members and students engage in the most rigorous intellectual experience available in legal education.

Unlike a lecture course, colloquia generate a free flow of ideas among participants and the distinction between "teacher" and "student" is abandoned in favor of the joint pursuit of advanced study involving law and other disciplines.

Each Colloquium consists of a series of workshops on a given subject. Generally, students and faculty members meet and discuss a recent paper by a leading authority in that week's topic of study. The next day they meet with the author, along with other visiting faculty members and invited guests, for a workshop about the paper (there may be smaller meetings and informal dinners with faculty, students, and guest speakers as well). The following week, reactions to the workshop are reviewed, and then, with the next topic, the whole process begins again.

Fall 2009 Colloquia

Constitutional Theory Colloquium
Professors David Golove and Richard Pildes

Hauser Colloquium:  Interdisciplinary Approaches to International Law
Professor Ryan Goodman

Colloquium in Legal, Political and Social Philosophy
Professors Ronald Dworkin and Thomas Nagel

Colloquium on Law, Economics and Politics
Professors John Ferejohn and Lewis Kornhauser

Legal History Colloquium
Professor William Nelson

Hoffinger Criminal Justice Colloquium
Professor James Jacobs
 

Spring 2010 Colloquia

Institute for International Law and Justice Colloquium
Professors Benedict Kingsbury and J. H. H. Weiler

Law and Economics Colloquium
Professors Barry Adler and Oren Bar-Gill

Legal History Colloquium
Professors Daniel Hulsebosch and John Phillip Reid

Tax Policy Colloquium
Professor Daniel Shaviro

Colloquium on Innovation Policy
Professors Rochelle Dreyfuss and Barton Beebe

top of page