Saturday, October 8, 2011

Weekend Round-up

  • Jerry Genesio, an independent scholar, has published Portland Neck: The Hanging of Thomas Bird, a study of the trial and, on June 25, 1790, execution of a sailor accused of murdering the master of a slave ship.  Genesio terms this “the first death sentence handed down by a U.S. District Court judge under the authority of the United States Constitution.”  
  • The program and and a videorecording of the conference “Context and Consequences: The Hill-Thomas Hearings Twenty Years Later,” held at the Georgetown University Law Center, on Thursday, October 6, is available hereAnita Hill was a participant.  Charles Ogletree, also a participant, gave an extemporaneous tribute to Derrick Bell, whose death had just been announced.
    • On November 11-12, the Institute for Historical Studies at the University of Texas at Austin will host the conference "Sexuality and Slavery: Exposing the History of Enslaved People.”  The conveners explain that “leading scholars of slavery in the Americas will explore consensual sexual intimacy and expression within slave communities, as well as sexual relationships across lines of race, status and power.”  They will address “the use of sexuality as a tool of control, exploitation and repression, but also as an expression of autonomy, resistance and defiance.”  More informationRegistrationHat tip: H-Law.
    • Around the colloquia: In the preceding week, Sai Prakash (Virginia Law) presented “The Appointment of William Marbury” at Illinois Law,  John Q. Barrett (St. Johns Law) presented “From Nuremberg to Buffalo, October 4, 1946, Justice Robert H. Jackson's Enduring Lessons of Morality and Law in a World at War” at Buffalo Law, and Timothy Lytton (Albany Law) presented “Can You Believe It's Kosher? Trust, Reputation, and Non-Governmental Regulation in the Age of Industrial Food.”  Hat tip: Legal Scholarship Blog. 
    • Welcome to the blogosphere, Brazenandtenured. University of Colorado law professors Sarah Krakoff and Pierre Schlag offer "[f]ewer words, more ideas about law, politics, nature and culture," with the overarching aim of "redeem[ing] through example and experimentation the idea that law is part of the liberal arts."
    The Weekend Round-Up is a weekly feature compiled by all the Legal History bloggers.