17 th Annual McGill Graduate Law Conference
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS / APPEL AUX RÉSUMÉS

LAW AND BEHOLD
REVERIES OF THE CONNECTED WORLD

The Graduate Law Students Association (GLSA) of McGill University’s Faculty of Law is pleased to announce the 17th Annual McGill Graduate Law Conference, to be held on May 9-10, 2024, in Montréal Québec, Canada.

The theme of the 2024 McGill Graduate Law Conference focuses on how technologies and increasing social interconnectedness influence and shape the world and legal systems. The central question we ask is: how does technology interact with the law?

We welcome submissions in English and French from current master’s and doctoral students, recent graduates, and early-career academics specializing in law and related disciplines. The conference is intended to build community among graduate students from different institutions and to provide participants with a stimulating environment to discuss their work and an opportunity to learn and develop the skills necessary to communicate and animate their research. For information about previous years’ conferences, see https://www.mcgill.ca/agcl/previous-conferences.

Conference Theme: “Law and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World”

rev·er·ie

/ˈrev(ə)rē/

noun

a state of being pleasantly lost in one's thoughts; a daydream

(See https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/reverie#:~:text=%2F%CB%88rev%C9%99ri%2F- ,%2F%CB%88rev%C9%99ri%2F,reverie%20as%20the%20door%20opened )

We have chosen the conference theme based on the documentary bearing a similar name. The documentary uses the phrase “reveries of the connected world” to focus on the widespread consumption of new technologies like the internet which have an existential impact on our lives, societies, and culture – and, as we invite you to think about, on our legal systems. The omnipresence of technologies may create a state of paranoia for some, while some others may raise concerns around its risks and questions of ethical responsibilities. Still others may extol it for its ability to provide access to resources, foster greater inclusivity, satiate scientific curiosity, and improve cost and time efficiencies, making lives easier and better. These competing voices often look to the law for an answer. However, law itself remains caught up in a quandary when it comes to its relation with science and technology. On one hand, increasing interconnectedness and dependence on technology in the digital age require legal frameworks to develop and adjust to evolving social norms. At the same time, developments in science and technology continue to influence our understanding of the objects of legal inquiry and legal concepts and to question the assumptions that legal systems work with by building in the perspectives of different communities. On the other hand, legal frameworks and processes are enmeshed with the production and advancement of scientific knowledge and technological tools.

Against this background, some questions that arise under this year’s theme include: How do developments in science and technology shape the lifeworlds and social norms which form the foundation for different sets of laws? When the law crosses paths with changing social norms around technology, how does it react? And what influence does it have? How has social interconnectedness impacted the law? And how does the law, in turn, impact social interconnectedness? We welcome submissions inspired by these questions as well as those that interpret this year’s theme differently. We particularly invite new theoretical, practical and/or interdisciplinary perspectives.

The General Conference

The General Conference provides a platform for legal scholars to engage in discussions on current legal topics and share different perspectives. In previous years, the General Conference has provided opportunities for graduate students to present their research and receive feedback as well as interact with their peers and engage in the graduate community. Continuing this tradition, we invite abstracts for the General Conference on the theme of Law and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World.

Submissions to the General Conference are open to master’s students, doctoral students, recent graduates, and early career academics. For submission details, please see below.

Dean Maxwell and Isle Cohen Doctoral Seminar Series in International Law

The General Conference will be held in collaboration with the Dean Maxwell and Isle Cohen Doctoral Seminar Series in International Law, which is held in honor of the late Maxwell Cohen and his wife Isle. As Dean of McGill University’s Faculty of Law (from 1964 to 1969), Maxwell Cohen was pivotal in establishing McGill as an institution at the forefront of legal education in Canada. He remains renowned for his international law scholarship.

The Dean Maxwell and Isle Cohen Doctoral Seminar Series presents an opportunity exclusively for doctoral students to present their research.

Submissions must relate the conference theme to international law. Doctoral students who present at the Seminar Series have the chance to participate in a unique forum which celebrates the pursuit of international law research. Please note that a monetary prize will be awarded to the doctoral student who gives the best presentation.

The Seminar will take the form of a half-day panel discussion on international law topics inspired by the conference theme, led by up to eight doctoral students: up to four authors of papers, and four discussants. The papers will be circulated to the discussants and the attendees of the seminar in advance. Each discussant will commence the discussion of each paper, to which the author will have an opportunity to respond, before opening up to the rest of the panel for a general discussion.

Please indicate in your submission whether you would like to be considered for this Seminar, as a paper presenter or a discussant. You may make an application to be a discussant notwithstanding whether you also apply to present a paper during the rest of the conference.

Submission Details

To apply, please send an email to gradlawconference.law@mcgill.ca with subject line “2024 GradLawConference – [Your Name]” by 22 February 2024 which includes:

o the title of the work;

o a 300-word (maximum) abstract;

o up to 5 keywords;

o your name, full institutional affiliation, and contact information.

If you wish to apply only to be a discussant during the Dean Maxwell and Isle Cohen Doctoral Seminar:

o your name, full institutional affiliation, and contact information;

o the areas and/or questions of research which you would feel comfortable discussing.

If your paper relates to any aspect of sustainability, please consider highlighting that in the abstract. Though not a criterion for evaluation or selection at the conference, we would be happy to provide a platform for research and meaningful conversations that connect sustainability with the conference theme.

Selected participants will be notified by March 2024.

Travel & Accommodation

Due to limited funds, we are unable to accommodate all requests for travel support from accepted participants. Please contact the organizing committee with any further questions.

Enquiries and Information

For all enquiries, please contact the organizing committee at: gradlawconference.law@mcgill.ca. All relevant information about the conference can be found on the conference website, which will be updated regularly: http://www.mcgill.ca/agcl/

08 March 2024