Applications are now being accepted for the J. Willard Hurst Summer Institute in Legal History,
The 2023 Hurst Summer Institutea biennial event sponsored by the American Society for Legal History (ASLH). It is traditionally held in June in Madison, Wisconsin, with support from the Institute for Legal Studies of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where the late Professor James Willard Hurst was a founding member of the modern field of legal history.
Each Hurst Institute is organized and chaired by a well-known legal historian and includes visiting senior scholars who lead specialized sessions. An ASLH committee reviews applications and selects 12 early career scholars from around the world as Institute Fellows. The Fellows participate in seminars, meet other legal historians, and present their own work. The program is structured but informal, and features discussions of core readings in legal history and analysis of the work of the participants in the Institute. Fellowships are supported by dedicated funds donated in honor of leading mentors in the field, by the alumni of past Hurst fellows, and for other worthy ASLH goals that reflect the Institute's commitment to supporting early career scholars.
Scholars in law, history and other disciplines pursuing research on legal history of any part of the world and all time periods are eligible to apply. The seminar and written materials are conducted in English, and we cannot consider non-anglophone applications. Applicants with no formal training in legal history are encouraged to apply. Traditionally, the selection committee has sought to create a cohort of fellows with varying degrees of familiarity with the field, and welcome applications from scholars at an early stage of their career (beginning faculty members, doctoral students who have completed or almost completed their dissertations, and J.D. graduates).
Please visit the Hurst Institute Archives (UW Law School Repository) for more information about J. Willard Hurst, the legal history tradition at UW Law School and previous Hurst sessions.
The twelfth Hurst Summer Institute will take place June 18-30, 2023. Additional information regarding application deadlines will be forthcoming. The 2023 Hurst Institute will be chaired by Sarah Barringer Gordon, Arlin M. Adams professor of constitutional law and professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania and Michelle McKinley, the Bernard B. Kliks professor of law at the University of Oregon School of Law.
