Roger Williams University School of Law
Bristol, Rhode Island
Methodological Approaches to Comparative Law
Thursday, October 1, 2009
7:00 p.m. Reception at Bristol Harbor Inn, Bristol, Rhode Island
Friday, October 2, 2009
All events for Friday will be held at the School of Law, Ten Metacom Avenue, Bristol.
8:15 a.m. Breakfast
9:00 a.m. Opening Remarks
Dean David Logan, Professor Edward Eberle, Roger Williams University
Symeon Symeonides, President, American Society of Comparative Law
9:15 a.m. Introductory Address on Comparative Law: Mirjan Damaska, Yale University
9:30 a.m. Panel 1 - Comparative Law Method: Past, Present and Future
This panel will discuss the modern historical roots of comparative law, in the beginning of the 20th century, but especially in the influence of European émigrés after World War II on the comparative methodological approach of mainly studying doctrine, concerning topics such as contract, torts, or civil procedure. Part of this entailed the search for practical solutions to legal problems. The question here is: is this approach of functionalism still relevant or outmoded? Is studying doctrine too narrow? Can we understand law only by studying rules? Or, to really understand the law of a territory, do you need to know how rules function within the culture? The panel will then switch to evaluation of comparative law methods not just of the past, but of the present and future.
Moderator: Louise Ellen Teitz
Speakers: David Clark, Willamette University
David Gerber, Chicago-Kent
James Maxeiner, University of Baltimore
Peter Quint, University of Maryland
11:00 a.m. Coffee Break
11:30 a.m. Panel II - Comparative Law and Society
This panel will examine the forces that are embedded in a society and/or culture that help form and give the society substance. These forces tend to lie beneath the surface of law, but help shape and vest the law of a territory. The panel might consider the impact of history, philosophy, religion, language, sociology, economics, politics, anthropology, and ethnicity, among other factors.
Moderator: Mortimer Sellers, University of Baltimore
Speakers: Vivian Curran, University of Pittsburgh
Edward Eberle, Roger Williams University
Amalia Kessler, Stanford University
James Whitman, Yale University
1:00 p.m. Lunch
2:00 p.m. Panel III - Comparative Law and Critical Legal Studies
This panel will look at comparative law from the perspective of Critical Legal Studies. Is law just politics? Is looking at law comparatively just an exercise in studying power arrangements? What role do politics and power play in the formation and entrenchment of social forces, including in politics, economics, and law? Does the influence of European-based legal systems reflect the dominance of Europeans over Africans, Asians, or South Americans? Are there alternative ways of arranging law?
Moderator: Louise Ellen Teitz, Roger Williams University
Speakers: Anna di Robilant, Boston University
Ilhyung Lee, University of Missouri
Teemu Ruskola, Emory University
Nora Demleitner, Hofstra University
3:30 p.m. Break
4:00 p.m. Panel IV - Comparative Law and the World
This panel will evaluate the methodology and goals of comparative law throughout the world, focusing mainly on Central and South America, Africa, and Asia, with perhaps some consideration of North America and Europe. Are there universal approaches to comparative law or is it a matter of regionalization?
Moderator: Hannah Buxbaum, Indiana University
Speakers: Dominique Custos, Loyola University, New Orleans
Jayanth Krishnan, Indiana University
Maximo Langer, University of California
Christian Okeke, Golden Gate University
6:00 p.m. Cocktails
7:00 p.m. Dinner
Saturday, October 3, 2009
All events for Saturday will be held at the School of Law, Ten Metacom Avenue, Bristol.
9:00 Breakfast and Presentations by Issues Facing New/Young Comparativists, moderated by Colin Picker, University of Missouri-Kansas City
