Graduate Student and Junior Scholar Workshop
Invitation and Call for Participation
We welcome paper proposals for New Directions in Law and Society: A Graduate Student and Junior Scholar Workshop, which will be held virtually on October 8-9, 2021, hosted by the Center for Justice, Law, and Societies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, with the generous financial support of the Law and Science Program of the National Science Foundation.
We have designed this event with the following goals in mind:
· Extend training opportunities to graduate students and junior scholars who are interested in law, politics, and society topics and can benefit from mentoring by faculty at different institutions
· Create communication channels among scholars working on similar law, politics, and society problems across disciplines and institutions
· Promote dialogue to help develop the new concepts needed to analyze unique law, politics, and society problems, and the empirical tools necessary to investigate those problems
To meet these goals, we will be organizing two events: the first is a virtual graduate student and junior scholar workshop followed by an in-person conference in 2022. Our virtual workshop will take place for four hours the mornings of Oct. 8 and 9, accommodating all time zones in the continental United States. We will create workshop cohorts of 4-5 graduate students and junior scholars, which will be paired with two more senior scholars. Graduate students and junior scholars will be expected to share an article draft or draft dissertation chapter (up to 10,000 words) with their workshop cohort one month before the conference, all of whom will provide constructive feedback on the paper. Workshop sessions will focus on the development of individual papers and how the work fits into broader law, politics, and society scholarship.
As part of the workshop, distinguished law, politics, and society scholars will participate in plenary panels on the past and future of law and society scholarship. We will also hold professionalization panels on grant funding and publishing research.
While this workshop is aimed at graduate students, any junior scholar not yet on the tenure track (i.e., postdoc, visiting scholar, visiting assistant professor) is welcome to apply. We welcome scholars from all social science and humanities approaches whose work touches on law.
Junior scholar applications are closed. To participate as a faculty mentor, please apply here.
Undergraduate Student Organizations
Criminology Club
The Criminology Club is open to all students who hold a interest in criminology and its related fields. We provide students with the opportunity to explore various aspects of criminology, including (but not limited do), criminal justice, law, psychology, sociology, and forensics. It aim’s to promote students’ interest in the field of criminology and to supports students’ academic, professional, and personal development. Lectures and guest speakers hosted by the club will feature industry professionals, with intriguing experiences, who offer insights into their fields. While group events and field trips will implement hands on involvement and stimulating activities. Our first semester as a club will not be anything short of fascinating, as it wll feature guest speakers ranging from former FBI agents, to serial killer experts, to the surviving victim of Ted Bundy.
Criminology Club Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/724680391509043/?ref=share
Criminology Club Website: https://umasscriminologyclub.wixsite.com/website
Human Rights Book Club
With education being primarily online now, it's rather difficult to make new friends and genuine connections. The human rights book club was started to create an atmosphere in which students can come together and learn more about international conflicts and human rights violations while sharing their thoughts in our weekly discussion. The goal is to draw individuals from all backgrounds and majors to craft discussions from all perspectives. Once finals seasons conclude, we ask for students to commit to the group chosen book, read about 30-50 pages a week, and participate in the weekly discussion. There is potential to have professor insight and participation in discussion as well to provide more insight and knowledge. If this sounds like something you would be interested in, please contact Katelyn Coleman at katelyncolem@umass.edu.
Legal Studies Undergraduate Board
The Legal Studies Undergraduate Board (LSUB for short) is a group of students who wish to get more involved within the Legal Studies department. LSUB is responsible for interviewing prospective faculty members for the department, planning events for fellow students, and actively engaging the faculty. It's an excellent opportunity to get to know other students in the major, engage with Legal Studies professors beyond the classroom, and gain knowledge about classes, research opportunities, and the department as a whole.
Sign up for our email list: https://forms.gle/z3nHBT262hWXs8Fe8
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/umass.lsub/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UmassLSUB
The Criminology Club is open to all students who hold a interest in criminology and its related fields. We provide students with the opportunity to explore various aspects of criminology, including (but not limited do), criminal justice, law, psychology, sociology, and forensics. It aim’s to promote students’ interest in the field of criminology and to supports students’ academic, professional, and personal development. Lectures and guest speakers hosted by the club will feature industry professionals, with intriguing experiences, who offer insights into their fields. While group events and field trips will implement hands on involvement and stimulating activities. Our first semester as a club will not be anything short of fascinating, as it wll feature guest speakers ranging from former FBI agents, to serial killer experts, to the surviving victim of Ted Bundy.
Criminology Club Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/724680391509043/?ref=share
Criminology Club Website: https://umasscriminologyclub.wixsite.com/website
Human Rights Book Club
With education being primarily online now, it's rather difficult to make new friends and genuine connections. The human rights book club was started to create an atmosphere in which students can come together and learn more about international conflicts and human rights violations while sharing their thoughts in our weekly discussion. The goal is to draw individuals from all backgrounds and majors to craft discussions from all perspectives. Once finals seasons conclude, we ask for students to commit to the group chosen book, read about 30-50 pages a week, and participate in the weekly discussion. There is potential to have professor insight and participation in discussion as well to provide more insight and knowledge. If this sounds like something you would be interested in, please contact Katelyn Coleman at katelyncolem@umass.edu.
Legal Studies Undergraduate Board
The Legal Studies Undergraduate Board (LSUB for short) is a group of students who wish to get more involved within the Legal Studies department. LSUB is responsible for interviewing prospective faculty members for the department, planning events for fellow students, and actively engaging the faculty. It's an excellent opportunity to get to know other students in the major, engage with Legal Studies professors beyond the classroom, and gain knowledge about classes, research opportunities, and the department as a whole.
Sign up for our email list: https://forms.gle/z3nHBT262hWXs8Fe8
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/umass.lsub/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UmassLSUB
Fellowship Opportunities
2021-2022 Graduate Fellows Program
The Center for Justice, Law, and Societies (CJLS) invites applications for 4-6 Graduate Fellow positions for the 2021-2022 academic year. CJLS is an interdisciplinary group of scholars focusing on the creation, implementation, and real-world applications of the law, broadly speaking. We welcome applications from graduate students in all colleges who have a strong interest in further exploring the legal dimensions of their own work (e.g. law & history, law & psychology, law & social science, law & literature, law & public health, law & environment, law & science, etc.).
Fellows will serve a one-year term that prioritizes professionalization and mentorship; this fellowship does not not take the place of a full time TAship or RAship. Each Fellow will be assigned two faculty mentors, one outside their home department and one (where possible) within it. Each Fellow will also receive funding to attend an interdisciplinary law-related conference (Law & Society Association; Law, Culture and Humanities, or another law-related conference subject to the approval of the fellowship director). This funding will include coverage of each Fellow’s flight, hotel room, conference registration fee (including membership fees, if required for registration).
In addition to mentorship and conference attendance, the CJLS Graduate Fellows will use the fellowship year to develop an academic project related to justice, law, and societies (broadly construed).
Fellowship Requirements:
- Attend Justice, Law, and Societies workshop lunch meetings every third scheduled Monday of the academic year, 12–1pm. This will be six meetings per semester, and missing more than one meeting per semester, without prior approval of the fellowship director, will disqualify a student from the Fellowship
- Present your Fellowship project at one of the ‘21–22 workshop meetings
- Meet regularly with your mentor(s) (at least once per month) to discuss your Fellowship project and presentation, as well as to learn about interdisciplinary communities that interest you
- Attend 1–2 additional Fellows’ meetings per semester (meeting time will be arranged at the beginning of each semester based on Fellows’ schedules)
- Attendance at CJLS public events
- Attend and present at one law-related conference during the fellowship year
Application Due Date: March 31, 2021 (selections will be made by mid-April)
Application available at: tinyurl.com/cjlsgradfellows
For any questions, please contact: Katie Young (Sociology) young@umass.edu or Lauren McCarthy (Political Science/Legal Studies) mccarthy@legal.umass.edu
