Hurst Summer Institute in Legal History at Wisconsin

The University of Wisconsin Law School announces the Hurst Summer Institute in Legal History at Wisconsin:

The J. Willard Hurst Summer Institute in Legal History is a biennial event sponsored by the Institute for Legal Studies at the University of Wisconsin Law School in conjunction with the American Society for Legal History (ASLH). A committee appointed by the ASLH reviews applications from early-career faculty members, doctoral students with completed or nearly completed dissertations, and recent J.D. graduates demonstrating interest in an academic career with a focus on legal history, and selects 12 promising scholars as Institute Fellows. The Fellows come to Madison for two weeks in June to participate in daily seminars, meet other legal historians, and analyze and discuss each others work. Each biennial Institute is organized and chaired by two senior legal historians and includes visiting scholars who lead specialized sessions.

The purpose of the Hurst Summer Institute is to advance the approach to legal scholarship fostered by J. Willard Hurst in his teaching, mentoring, and scholarship. The Hurst Summer Institute assists scholars from law, history, and other disciplines in pursuing research in legal history. It also develops teaching skills by deepening the understanding of legal history and developing methods for incorporating it into the law school and undergraduate history curriculum. More importantly, it provides junior faculty a unique opportunity to work closely over an extended period of time with distinguished senior faculty and thus continue the tradition of excellence in research, teaching, and mentoring others. Finally, the Hurst Institute establishes relationships and cultivates a network of scholars for mutual support throughout their careers.

The next biennial session will take place in June 2009; apply by 1/15/09 http://law.wisc.edu/ils/hurst_institute.htm