Doing History in Law. Friday, February 26, 2027, 9am to 5pm EST (virtual online)
The Center for Constitutional Law at Akron seeks submission of abstracts to present and publish at the
2027 Virtual Symposium, Doing History in Law. The Akron Center for Con Law is one of four national centers established by Congress on the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution to support legal research on constitutional matters.
The 2027 symposium explores the contours of the U.S. Supreme Court's emerging legal standard of "history and tradition" for constitutional analysis. Keynote speaker Prof. Jonathan Gienapp contributes thoughts from his new book, Against Constitutional Originalism, using historical analysis to critique the Court's own analysis of history. For the Court's law-office history presents methodological pitfalls in analyzing individual rights. But might it also offer opportunities?
Commentators at the symposium might engage with the topic of history and law by critiquing and discussing the "history and tradition" standard, including its origins, application, and problems. Topics for papers might also delve into methodology, the meaning of "history" including its fixity and fluidity, how lawyers and judges can or should conduct historical research, what counts as history, or who gets left out of history. They might address jurisprudential concerns distinguishing historical analysis from originalism, textualism, or pragmatism. Presenters might also discuss specific historical projects, case applications of the history and tradition test, or how lawyers should be using history in advocacy. The topic is intended to be a broad umbrella to explore the many aspects and consequences related to doing history in law.
Abstracts for the 2027 Con Law Virtual Symposium, Doing History in Law, should be submitted by January 25, 2027. Please submit abstracts to Professor Tracy Thomas, Director of the Center for Constitutional Law at Akron, at thomast@uakron.edu.
Papers will then be published in the Center's journal, ConLawNOW, a faculty edited, open-access, online journal. Final papers should be submitted a few weeks after the symposium on March 20, 2027, for publication in a spring symposium edition. Papers for this online journal are typically short essays between 5,000 to 10,000 words in length, but there is flexibility in the length, tone, and format of published papers.
