Eight seniors seized an opportunity to take part in an exclusive law seminar offered outside their class schedules.
Featuring prominent scholars from the University of Oxford, “Comparative Study of Law in Society” was a three-evening series held at Finn House in September. The series was sponsored by the Kenyon Review and guided by John Adams, chairman and founder of the Foundation for Law, Justice and Society at Oxford. Accompanying Adams was Denis Galligan, a professor of socio-legal studies at Oxford. During the three nights, the students, who were selected from a pool of applicants, delved into topics ranging from the nature of legal studies to integration of law with society, constitutions and courts.
David Lynn ’76, editor of the Kenyon Review and professor of English, said the seminar was “a chance for some of Kenyon’s brightest and most accomplished seniors to be challenged intellectually and to expand their understanding of international law and society.”
Lynn initially had envisioned a campus-wide lecture by Adams, who is already known to many students as the founder of Kenyon’s Summer Scholars Program in Socio-Legal Studies. Instead, Adams offered to invite fellow academic Galligan and together conduct “a seminar that would offer the opportunity to interact more directly with the students.”
Ted Meyer ’15, a history major from Northfield, Minn., found the course to be an opportunity to study outside his usual field. “I haven’t taken any legal courses, but I’ve always had an interest in law, and I was excited about the international context in which the seminar was to be situated.”
Adams was pleased with the students. “We found the students articulate, accurate and well prepared to discuss the subjects in a meaningful fashion. Our time was well spent and proved that Kenyon, in many ways, is a special place.”
by Matthew Eley '15