J. Willard Hurst Summer Institute in Legal History

Criteria

Early-career scholars in law, history and other disciplines pursuing research on legal history of any part of the world.

Amount

Fellowship funding for travel and accommodation.

Deadline

TBD


The J. Willard Hurst Summer Institute in Legal History is a biennial event sponsored by ASLH and traditionally held in June in Madison, Wisconsin, with support from the Institute for Legal Studies of the University of Wisconsin, 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, the alumni of past Hurst fellows, and for other worthy ASLH goals that reflect its 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).

Application information for the twelfth Hurst Summer Institute, which will take place in 2023, will be posted when available.

In 2023, the following named fellowships, which honor distinguished scholars who have made extraordinary contributions to the field of legal history, will be awarded to those attending the Hurst Institute:

  • Hendrik Hartog/Princeton University Fellowship
  • Morton Horwitz Fellowship
  • Harry Scheiber Fellowship
  • Charles McCurdy/University of Virginia Law School Fellowship
  • Mary Frances Berry Fellowship
  • Rebecca Scott/University of Michigan Law School Fellowship
  • David Seipp Fellowship in English Legal History
  • Robert Gordon/Stanford Law School Fellowship
  • William Nelson Fellowship
  • Reva Siegel Fellowship
  • Barbara Welke Fellowship
  • Lawrence Friedman/Stanford Law School Fellowship

Committee Members

  • Thomas J. McSweeney, chair
    William and Mary School of Law

  • Daniel LaChance
    Emory University

  • Myisha S. Eatmon
    Harvard University

  • Rabia Belt
    Stanford University