Kent 2007

SLSA annual conference

Kent 2007

By Katrin Steinack

cathedral viewThe Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference was held at the University of Kent at its Canterbury campus from 3–5 April 2007. It was the first time that the University had hosted this prestigious event, and it coincided with the celebration of Kent Law School’s 40th anniversary. In addition to the academic content of the conference, a series of more informal activities were arranged to give delegates the chance to relax and see more of Canterbury and its surrounding countryside and coast.

The conference brought together over 200 socio-legal scholars from around the world for three days of presentations and papers given on a series of thematic streams and keywords. The plenary lectures were given by Professor Nick Blomley from Simon Fraser University, who discussed the issue of 'Homelessness and the delusions of property' and by Professor Martin Partington CBE, former Law Commissioner and one of the founder members of the SLSA who spoke about the past, present and the future of socio-legal studies.

Organisers: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Streams and keywords 

Publishers' standsThe conference continued its tradition of innovative and lively legal debate informed by scholarship which is common to both the SLSA and to Kent Law School. For the first time, the SLSA moved away from organising papers solely around streams and introduced the opportunity to submit abstracts directly to the organising committee, selecting one or two keywords from a predetermined list which best reflected the theme of a paper. More than 80 papers were submitted this way with Governance, Justice, and Becoming Legal being the most popular keywords. Other keywords available were Class, Development, Embodiment, Narrative, Networks, Order/Ordering, Participation, Resistance, Risk, Sovereignty, Space and Infrastructure, and Technologies. More traditional streams were offered for the following topics:

  • Child and Family Law and Policy organised by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , Brunel University
  • Environmental Law organised by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , University of Exeter
  • European Law organised by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , University of  Wales, Aberystwyth
  • Immigration Law organised by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , University of Kent
  • Information Technology and Cyberspace Law organised by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , University of the West of England
  • International Laws in the 21st Century organised by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , University of Kent
  • Law and Incitement organised by Michael Kearney, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • Law and Religion organised by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , University of Wales Cardiff
  • Law, Race and Human Rights organised by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and Claudia Tavani, University of Essex
  • Legal Education organised by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , University of Keele
  • Medical Law and Ethics organised by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , University of Edinburgh, and This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , University of Wales, Aberystwyth
  • Mental Health and Mental Capacity organised by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , University of Nottingham,
  • Sentencing and Punishment organised by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , Brunel University
  • Sexual Offences and Offending organised by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , Sheffield Hallam University
  • Transitional Justice and the Rule of Law organised by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , University of Ulster

Presenting their research both in those specialist streams and in the panels combining papers with similar keywords the delegates made this a diverse and thought-provoking conference.

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Conference documents 

For more detailed information on the conference programme, submitted abstracts and topics discussed, please have a look at the following documents:

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