From the Archives: Joseph Raz @ Yale

Date: 3/24/2003 – 3/31/2003
Title: Storrs Lectures 2003: Between Authority and Morality

• Judges Are Human Too (1:21:24)
• Interpretation: What is It? (1:32:56)
• Interpretation: Why and How? (1:33:59)

Speaker(s): Joseph Raz
Location: Yale Law School
Presentation Type(s): Streaming video (Real Player)

Jules Coleman introduces Raz and his work in the first and second lectures, and Dean Anthony Kronman introduces Raz in the final lecture. Q&A for each lecture appear just past the 1 hour mark, and include questions from Coleman and from Jack Balkin in the first; Jed Rubenfeld, Dan Markovits, and Coleman in the second; and Owen Fiss and Kronman in the third.

Here’s a snippet from the announcement:

Joseph Raz’s Storrs Lectures will be “a stab at understanding interpretation as a mode of explanation leading to a kind of understanding.” Raz argues that “interpretation is a common enterprise in the arts, in music, in literature, in understanding social relations and social institutions generally, and in the law, [but] it is nevertheless different in the different areas.” And this leads him to the question, “What makes for the specific character of legal interpretation?”

Raz’s first lecture, “Judges Are Humans Too,” will outline what he calls an “ancient theme in legal thought”–the position of judges between law and morality. Raz will suggest that a means by which judges integrate law and morality is through interpretation.

The second lecture, “Interpretation: What Is It?”, will pick up on the idea of interpretation and try to define and examine it and its effects. The final lecture in Raz’s series, “Interpretation: Why and How?”, will focus on the differences in how interpretation is viewed by different fields. Interpretation varies, says Raz, “in response to different reasons why we interpret.”

From the archives: Mahzarin Banaji @ Yale

Date: 3/11/2003
Title: Mind Bugs: The Psychology of Ordinary Prejudice
Speaker: Mahzarin Banaji
Location: Yale Law School
Presentation type: Streaming video (Real Player)

From the archives: Jennifer Hochschild @ Yale

Date: 3/10/2003
Title: From Nominal to Ordinal: The Politics and Morality of Skin Hierarchy (1:32:57)
Speaker: Jennifer Hochschild
Location: Yale Law School
Presentation type: Streaming video (Real Player)

Arthur Allen Leff Fellowship Lecture

Iraq, The U.N. and The Threat of War

Date: 3/7/2003
Title: Iraq, The U.N., and the Threat of War (59:07)
Speaker(s): Stanley Laughlin, Mary Ellen O’Connell, John Quigley, Greg Travalio, Alan Michaels
Location: Ohio State
Presentation type: Streaming video (Real Player)

From the announcement:

The four-member panel will consist of Moritz Law professors, and each will discuss the implications of the threat of war with Iraq and the relationship of the United States to the United Nations. The panel discussion, which is open to the public, will be broadcast live. The webcast will also be viewable at a later time from the same web address.

Professor Stanley Laughlin will provide perspective on the significance of congressional resolutions and whether President Bush has the authority to attack Iraq without a declaration of war. Laughlin teaches foreign relations law, constitutional law, economic regulation and the constitution, ethical issues of the professions, and law and anthropology.

Professor Mary Ellen O’Connell will explore the significance of the U.S./U.K. proposed Security Council resolution, and the specific effects that could occur on both sides of the issue. She teaches a variety of courses in international law, including the basic course, international dispute resolution and international environmental law, among others. She also teaches contracts and holds the William B. Saxbe Designated Professorship.

Professor John Quigley will examine the evidence for war with Iraq that secretary of State Colin Powell presented to the United Nations. Professor quigley is the President’s Club Professor of Law and a university distinguished scholar. He is an expert in international law, has taught numerous courses, and published countless articles in the field.

Associate Dean Greg Travalio, the Lawrence D. Stanley Professor of Law, will explain the possible paths for using lawful force against Iraq under the United Nations charter and under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441. He has taught law and the use of military force, in addition to courses drawing on his broad expertise in contracts and related fields.

Associate Dean Alan Michaels will serve as the panel’s moderator for the event.