Forthcoming Conference on "Law and the Emotions: New Directions in Scholarship" at UC Berkeley

For those considering attending the conference "Law and the Emotions: New Directions in Scholarship," at UC Berkeley in early February, there is still room to register and the special conference rate for the hotel is available until January 16th. Here is the conference website, followed by the announcement.

Law and the Emotions: New Directions in Scholarship

U.C. Berkeley Law School (Boalt Hall), February 8th and 9th, 2007.

Sponsored by Boalt Hall Law School, DePaul Law School, The Gruter Institute for Law and Behavioral Research, The Vanderbilt Law School Law and Human Behavior Program, and The U.C. Berkeley Center for the Study of Law and Society.

Recent work in the still-emerging field of law and emotion has moved well beyond the initial debates about reason and emotion, into diverse and exciting areas of interdisciplinary study. Some scholars have continued the investigations, in philosophy and psychology, for example, that helped establish the field. Others are doing important new work in other disciplines, including cognitive neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and the sociology of emotion. Early focal points, such as criminal law and courtroom practice, have been supplemented by a much broader range of inquiry. However, scholars pursuing these nascent directions often have little exposure to work in related areas. This conference aims to facilitate the interdisciplinary connections and collaborations that are vital for the continued development of the field.

The conference will commence on Thursday, February 8th at 4 PM and end on Friday, February 9th at 5 PM. Panels include:

Law, the Mind Sciences, and Emotions. This panel will view emotion and its implications for law through the lens of neuroscience, cognitive and social psychology, and behavioral biology.

Law and Emotion in Action. This panel will explore emotions as affective responses developed in institutional and collective contexts, and institutions (such as the jury, the workplace, and the social welfare system) as entities that both shape and are shaped by emotion.

Theorizing Law and the Emotions. This will be a roundtable devoted to reflections on the varied ways in which law is capable of engaging the emotions, for example, by acting on emotions, moderating or channeling them, scripting them, or helping them come into being.

New Directions in Scholarship on Law and the Emotions. This panel will consist of a series of short presentations showcasing exciting new approaches to the analysis of law and emotion.

Keynote Speakers: Arlie Hochschild and Dacher Keltner
Confirmed speakers: Kathy Abrams, Susan Bandes, Jeremy Blumenthal, Devon Carbado, Cheshire Calhoun, Laurel Fletcher, Angela Harris, Oliver Goodenough, Peter Huang, Owen Jones, Dan Kahan, Hila Keren, Sharon Krause, Terry Maroney, Elizabeth Phelps, Jeffrey Rachlinski, Carol Sanger, Susan Silbey, Elizabeth V. Spelman, and Robin West.

Organizers: Kathy Abrams (Boalt Hall Law School); Susan Bandes (DePaul Law School); Hila Keren (Hebrew University of Jerusalem Law School) and Terry Maroney (Vanderbilt Law School).

To register and for further information visit http://www.law.berkeley.edu/institutes/csls/lawemotion_conference

or contact Debra Krauss at dkrauss@law.berkeley.edu