“Just law” refers not just to law, but to the ambivalent relationship between law and justice. International law can be characterized as both constitutive of imperialism and a necessary context for certain forms of emancipatory political expression, a tension expressed through the contested claims for legal frameworks such as human rights, transitional justice, and just war. What is the work that these concepts do, and what do they tell us about the status of sovereignty and legitimacy in our world today? Does international law simply reflect the expedient interests of world powers, or does it retain a degree of autonomy for thinking about alternative global futures? Join us as we consider claims from the past, interventions in the present, and orientations toward the future. New work from young scholars will be featured in conversation with select faculty whose own work has informed the “Just Law” seminar in the past. Distinguished Professor of Anthropology Talal Asad will give a keynote address on the evening of Thursday, May 3, followed by a day-long workshop on Friday, May 4 with Jini Kim Watson, Amiel Melnick, Anjuli Raza Kolb, Shea McManus, Kareem Rabie, and others. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, including access to pre-circulated workshop papers, please visit: http://sovereignty.commons.gc.cuny.edu/.
Co-sponsored by the Law, Justice, and Global Political Futures seminar.
