The Center for Law, Justice and Culture will host world-renowned speaker Michael Hardt on Thursday as a part of its efforts to better inform students of the interdisciplinary nature of law and humanity.
Hardt is best known for his Empire trilogy and Declaration, which he co-authored with Antonio Negri. Hardt is currently the chair of the Literature Program at Duke University and is well respected in multiple fields, including international relations and political science, said Judith Grant, director of the Center for Law, Justice and Culture.
“We have people interested in his work not just from the point of view of academics, but also from the point of view of activism,” Grant said.
Hardt has had much prominence in 21st century activism and has been involved with protests against the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. At his lecture on Feb. 21, he will address “the right to the common” and recent social movements that have focused on the masses, Grant said.
The Center for Law, Justice and Culture brings together faculty from different departments that are interested in socio-legal research and lecturers, like how Hardt’s have been a way to benefit the larger community of OU, said Kathleen Sullivan, associate professor of political science who is involved with the center.
“The center is about faculty sharing research and bringing scholars to OU,” Sullivan said.
The center has also recently created an undergraduate certificate program, which offers a scholarly approach to the study of law, justice and culture, Sullivan said.
“We want to reach out to high performing students who show an interest in law, and we want to give them a coherent interdisciplinary education from a liberal arts perspective,” Sullivan said.
The program requires students to take classes outside of their major in order to stress the importance of interdisciplinary studies. Currently 14 students are enrolled in the program, including Emily Fish, a junior studying sociology pre-law.
“We do a lot of reading and look at…how both our perceptions of law influence society and our perceptions of society influence law,” Fish said.
The center will open another round of applications next fall for students to begin classes in the spring of 2014.
If You Go:
Where: Walter Hall Rotunda
What: Michael Hardt Lecture
When: Thursday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m.
Admission: Free
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