International Conference Law and Society in the 21st Century Joint Annual Meetings of the Law and Society Association and Research Committee on Sociology of Law (ISA) Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany July 25 -28, 2007

Program Committee Preliminary Program Meeting Registration Local Organization Site CRN/IRC/WG message board Paper posting Local information - food, tourism, etc. Socio-Legal Tours Instructions for Submission of Paper and Session Proposals Submit a Proposal for a Paper, Session, Poster, or to Volunteer as chair or discussant no new paper proposals accepted Proposal Keyword List Collaborative Research Networks/Working Groups Program for International Sociolegal Research Collaboration Attendance Planning, Hotel Reservations, and City Information Graduate Student Activity Meeting Discussion Board & Berlin 2007 Blog Exhibitor Information

Call for Participation Due Date: January 12, 2007 Sorry, No More Papers Accepted without the Permission  (email) The 2007 Joint Annual Meeting of the Law and Society Association and the Research Committee on Sociology of Law (International Sociological Association) will be held at Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany from Wednesday, July 25 - Saturday, July 28.  This international conference is co-sponsored by the Socio-Legal Studies Association (UK), the Japanese Association of Sociology of Law, the Vereinigung für Rechtssoziologie, and the Sociology of Law Section of the German Sociological Association. Theme: Law and Society in the 21st Century: Transformations, Resistances, Futures We invite you to join colleagues from around the world to reflect on the law and society in the 21st century. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 is commonly evoked as the symbolic beginning of the 21st century, so it is fitting that we are holding this meeting in Berlin. The theme of the meeting, Law and Society in the 21st Century: Transformations, Resistances, Futures, is intended to encourage debate on the transformations that are redefining law and society in the new century. This period of rapid change and transformation has been marked by resistance as well as adaptation. In order to imagine the future, we invite you to consider these transformations and spaces of resistance.

The Program Committee has highlighted nine sub-themes that are critical to law and society scholarship in the 21st century. These will be reflected in a small number of featured sessions as well as other panels and presentations. The Program Committee hopes that these sub-themes will provoke discussion among conference participants. We invite participants in Berlin to share their own research and perspectives on these vital topics.

Please note, however, that submissions on any valid law and society topic are welcome—papers do not need to directly address the conference theme.

Sub-Themes 

"New Governance" and Its Critics: New forms of governance operate alongside coercive state legal structures.  Many scholars see promise in this “new governance” that relies on non-binding principles and coordination mechanisms, multiple, often competing rule-making and adjudication bodies, and expanded participatory, information sharing, and decisional procedures.  On the other hand, skeptics abound. 

Violence, Human Rights, and Gender:  Gender, violence, and human rights interventions intersect in various ways under conditions of war, trafficking, and domestic violence.  These intersections include recognizing sexual violence as a weapon of war and genocide, analyzing the relationships between war and gender-based violence at home, and examining the responses to these human rights violations through international courts and reconciliation procedures in post-war situations. 

Transitional Justice: Memory and Reconciliation:  Since 1945, transitional justice has followed the fall of National Socialism in Germany, authoritarian right-wing juntas in Southern Europe and Latin America, communist totalitarianism in Central Eastern Europe, and dictatorships in Africa, Latin America, and Asia.  It sought to heal the violence of apartheid in South Africa and ethnic “cleansing” in the Balkans and Rwanda.  Transitional justice faces a tension between recognizing the extent of involvement of the population in the past regime and the need to reestablish social solidarity and, if possible, democracy, rule of law, and respect for human rights. Understanding how this can be accomplished is a major challenge for the 21^st century.  

Torture and the Security State:  In the 21^st century, torture has been openly resurrected as a “legitimate” tactic for “fighting terrorism” and “enhancing security” by the US government.  What makes 21^st century torture distinctive from past practices is that the world’s lone superpower, ostensibly a model for the rule of law, has abandoned a universal consensus on the illegality of brutalizing prisoners.  Theorizing the implications of the security state for forms of policing and the use of torture is an issue that now has global significance.

Revisiting the Sacred/Secular Divide: The Legal Story:  In the 21^st century, the role of secularism in law has taken on new dimensions.  The history of modern secularization of law, the philosophical delineations of the impossibility or undesirability of separationist legal ideologies, and empirical investigation and creative re-imaginings of the actual regulation of religious persons, places, and ways of life are all relevant to understanding the new relationships between the sacred and the secular in law.   

Transformation in Crime and Punishment—From Local to Global: Globalization processes, such as transplants and “border crossings” of ideas, practices, policies, and economies, are changing the crime control/penological landscape.  At the same time, local criminal justice/penological change takes shape in local settings that limit globalizing influences on local systems. 

Transnational Legal Orders: Transnational organizations, like the UN, World Bank, and OECD, together with national legislatures and international companies, have fostered an expansion and homogenization of legal and normative standards on the global level.  Changes are occurring in both public and private legal orders.  Actors in this process are not only national or supranational law-makers (like the EU), but are also non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations.   

Race in the 21^st Century: Laws, state policies, and public discourse on race in democratic societies continue to affect the experience of discrete racial minorities in democratic states.  The manifestations of racism and state responses to it in various settings are a critical problem for contemporary democratic societies.

 

Globalization and Law in the Global South: The specific implications of the many varieties of globalization for understanding legal communities and legal consciousness in the Global South are not well understood by socio-legal scholars in the North. In tandem with the globalization of markets and governance, there is a growing need for communication, collaboration, and cross-pollination among scholars from different regions, and especially between scholars from the "North" and "South."

CONFERENCE LANGUAGE: The official language of the conference is English.  Proposals must be submitted in English.  At the meeting, presenters are strongly encouraged to make presentations in English.  Papers in other languages are permitted but an English summary must be made available at the session orally or in a handout.

CONFERENCE ADMINISTRATION: The Executive Office of the Law and Society Association will provide central administration for the meeting. Questions about proposal submission procedures, registration, exhibits, accommodation options, meeting schedule, meeting room assignments, and letters to support visa or funding requests, etc. should be directed there. Questions and communications about the Call should be directed to the Program Committee, Anne Boigeol and David Trubek, Co-Chairs; Mona Lynch, Associate Chair; and Elizabeth Holzer, Coordinator. Requests for local information may be directed to the Local Organizing Committee, Thomas Raiser, chair; Christian Boulanger, Coordinator.  The LOC also has a website (auf Deutsch) to promote German participation .
 

SUBMISSION OF PAPER PROPOSALS: There are three ways to submit paper proposals for the conference.

Option Three   Poster Paper Proposals

Those who prefer to present their work as a poster rather than as an oral presentation in a panel session, should submit their proposal selecting the "poster" option.  Posters will be displayed during the entire conference, with a designated time period (1 hour, 45 minutes) scheduled at some point during the regular meeting for the author(s) to be present and discuss their work with anyone interested.  It is necessary that at least one of the authors of a poster paper be present by the poster board during the assigned time.

To be considered ready for Program Committee review, a poster paper proposal must include:

• a poster title

• keyword selection(s)

• a 100-250 word abstract

Once a poster proposal has been accepted, it is the responsibility of the author(s) to bring the poster to the conference, have it mounted on the assigned poster board, and dismounted when the conference ends.  Posters that are not removed by the author(s) at conference end will be destroyed. 

All posters must have vertical (portrait) format.  The size must be at least DIN A1 (= 594mm x 841mm = 23.3in x 33.1in) and not exceed DIN A0 (841mm x 1189mm = 33.1in x 46.8in).  Text should be limited to the core ideas and presented in a font size that allows to be read from 2-3 feet away.  (Posting a 15-page paper would not be considered a “poster” and would be removed.)  Some useful information on the creation and layout of posters can be found at: http://www.cis.udel.edu/~pollock/fse04/posterauthorinst.html  and http://www.lcsc.edu/ss150/poster.htm

For the detailed steps in submitting poster paper proposals, click here.

SUBMISSION OF SESSION PROPOSALS (for ORGANIZERS):

We encourage the submission of proposals for fully formed sessions.  In light of the special nature of this conference and its potential for international collaboration, the Program Committee has established several resources to encourage the development of research networks across borders.  For suggestions on how to find other potential panelists engaged in similar research, please click here.

The Program Committee recognizes the importance of engaging the audience in a compelling manner, and we envision a conference that is dynamic, innovative, and interactive.  Session Proposals tend to follow three formats:

1) traditional scholarly paper panels organized around a common theme
2) discussion-centered roundtables
3) book sessions, in which discussion is focused on 1 or more recent (published in the last 18 months) scholarly books.

Those types of sessions are welcome, but we also encourage proposals that are not constrained by the usual categories. Participants might organize debates, visual and musical performances, workshops, films, and other innovative formats. (Sessions with alternate formats and no papers should use the Roundtable Session Submissions Form; see information below). We encourage scholars proposing creative formats to consult with program committee members in advance.)

The Program Committee reserves the right to make changes in panels in the interests of the general program.

There are three types of session proposals  Paper presentations, Roundtable discussions, and Book sessions

PARTICIPATION LIMITS: The Program Committee limits conference attendees to no more than two appearances in the program. Serving as paper presenter, roundtable participant, author-meets-reader panelist, or discussant counts as one participation each. Co-authors who do not present are not counted as making an appearance. One participation on a “service panel” may be exempted from the two appearance rule. At least one appearance as a session chair may be exempted from the two-participation rule. For all other requests, there will be no exception to the rule.

VOLUNTEERS FOR CHAIR AND/OR DISCUSSANT ROLES: We strongly encourage people to volunteer as chairs and discussants. When serving as a chair or a discussant, you make an invaluable contribution to the program. Please note that at least one service as chair is exempted from the two-participation rule. A specific form for volunteers is available on the Submission Site. The Program Committee will later contact volunteers directly to serve in these roles in sessions organized by the Committee.

Individuals selected to act as Session Chairs on paper panels are expected to inform paper presenters of the format of the session and their obligations as presenters, including:

• keeping to presentation time limits as set by the Chair

• preparing their paper for completion one month before the meeting

• circulating their paper among all session participants

• making a large print copy of any material to be distributed in the session for attendees who may be visually impaired

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH NETWORKS (CRNs):

Twenty-three Collaborative Research Networks (CRNs) have been formed under the auspices of the Law and Society Association to facilitate ongoing dialogue and research collaboration, often with an international dimension. The Association seeks to support the existing CRNs and encourages the formation of additional CRNs for research areas not currently addressed. CRNs are open to all interested scholars. Information about joining and procedures for establishing new CRNs is available the on this website or by directly contacting the CRN coordinator, David Engel. Session Proposals from existing CRNs or new CRNs are most welcome. CRN Principals are encouraged to organize and submit a series of panels formed from papers written by members of their CRN. The CRN panel organizer should follow the instructions for submitting session proposals. CRN sponsored panels should include reference to the CRN name and number in the Session Title so that it will be noted in the Program. CRN chairs should follow the guidelines established for submitting session proposals and make a reference to the CRN in the session title.

WORKING GROUPS (WGs):

The Research Committee on Sociology of Law (RCSL) currently sponsors Working Groups (WGs) that deal with specific research topics or areas within the sociology of law and socio-legal studies. These groups bring together scholars who wish to pursue comparative research transnationally to create networks of scientific research, intellectual debate and professional exchange. The WGs enjoy a great autonomy in the organization of their activities and are represented on the RCSL Board by their chairs. WG chairs are encouraged to propose panels consisting of research papers produced by their members and/or by other researchers who are not members of that WG but interested in the same topic. The WG chairs should follow the guidelines established for submitting session proposals and make a reference to the WG in the session title in order to indicate they are part of the RCSL.

PROGRAM FOR INTERNATIONAL SOCIO-LEGAL RESEARCH COLLABORATION, 2005-2007 (IRCs):

In 2005, LSA initiated a new two-year program to foster sustained international collaboration among socio-legal scholars, to stimulate new approaches to the comparative study of socio-legal topics, and to support mapping and analysis of international and transnational legal phenomena. The LSA Program for International Research Collaboration (PIRC) was established as part of the planning for the July 2007 Joint International Meeting of LSA, the Research Committee on the Sociology of Law (RCSL), and national associations from Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom (Berlin 2007). The PIRC Committee is chaired by Sally Merry (New York University) and includes David Engel (University at Buffalo, SUNY) and Terrence Halliday (American Bar Foundation).

    From 2005 to 2007, the LSA PIRC Committee supported International Research Collaboratives that brought together scholars from several countries doing research on a common topic. Twenty International Research Collaboratives (IRCs) were selected in spring 2006 after a competition, and the Law and Society Association provided some funds to half of these groups to bring scholars from less affluent countries to the Baltimore and Berlin meetings. IRCs include scholars from three or more countries who share common research areas. They presented panels and roundtables at the Baltimore meeting in July 2006 and will organize panels or events to present their research findings at the Berlin meeting. IRCs are expected to publish their papers together in an edited volume or journal symposium. The Program Committee also offered IRCs the opportunity to apply to a limited number of plenary slots at the Berlin meetings and will designate IRC panels as such in the conference program. The PIRC Committee has also submitted a grant application seeking more funding for these groups. The Association has invested in the formation and support of these collaboratives in order to develop the field of sociolegal studies and to increase its international scope and participation.

OTHER STANDING BODIES:

The program committee will consider applications from other Standing Bodies for treatment similar to that provided for CRNs, WGs, and IRCs. Applications must come from one of the Berlin 2007 sponsoring organizations or other national or international official bodies that support social-legal studies.

Applicants must show that the group requesting Standing Body status:

1. has been in existence for a substantial period of time;

2. will actively promote group attendance at Berlin

3. agrees to adhere to all the conference guidelines, and

4. guarantees that it will organize at least four events, including panels, roundtables, and/or author-meets-readers.

Applications for Standing Body status should be signed by the chief officer of the requesting organization or another authorized official. They should be sent to Program Coordinator Elizabeth Holzer and must be received by November 10, 2006.