:: AWARDS ::

New for 2004: The Wilson Nelson Cromwell Foundation has committed to provide a $5,000 award for five years, to go to younger scholars for excellent work in legal history. See below.

Surrency Prize

The 2003 Surrency Prize went to Stephen Jacobson for his article, "Law and Nationalism in Nineteenth-Century Europe: The Case of Catalonia in Comparative Perspective," which appeared in volume 20 of the Law and History Review (2002).  The citation read: "Stephen Jacobson's marvelously broad and ingenious article explores how resistance to civil law codification contributed to Catalan nationalism in the nineteenth century.  He richly explains how jurists, politicians, and controversialists took a decaying regional law, revived and modernized it in the process of resisting codification, and reimagined that law as one of the foundations of Catalan social identity and national solidarity.  Far from being backward or stubborn, resistance to codification becomes, in Jacobson's telling, a creative project.  Jacobson's treatment of his theme is remarkably broad.  He manages to weave together the political history of nineteenth-century Catalonia and Spain; the intellectual context supplied by French, German, and English debates on codification; and an analysis of the substantive features of uncodified Catalan law that made it attractive to its advocates.  In so doing, Jacobson shows just how varied, deep, and unpredictable were the connections between codification and nationalism."

The prize committee also recommended an honorable mention for the 2003 prize be awarded to Ronen Shamir for his article, "The Comrades Law of Hebrew Workers in Palestine: A Study in Socialist Justice," which appeared in volume 20 of the Law and History Review (2002).  The citation read: "Ronen Shamir has offered a new perspective on 'socialist justice' by exploring the aspirations and operation of the 'Comrades Law,' a legal system set up by the General Federation of Hebrew Workers (the Histadrut) in pre-World War II Palestine.  The Comrades Law sought, on one hand, to provide socialist justice as an alternative to the courts of the British colonial government.  On the other hand, it tried to further the project of nation-building pursued by a variety of Zionist institutions before the foundation of Israel.  Shamir's masterful depiction of the tensions between these two roles allows him to contribute to debates about the possibilities and limits of socialist justice.  In particular, he is able to show how the imperatives of nation-building led the Comrades Law to subordinate the education and empowerment of workers to the bureaucratic needs of the Histadrut."

Sutherland Prize

The Sutherland Prize for 2003 went to Professor Joseph Biancalana of the University of Cincinnati College of Law for his article "Actions of Covenant, 1200-1330," in the Spring 2002 issue of Law and History Review .  In the view of the Committee's majority: "Professor Biancalana's article provides an admirably thorough answer to two questions of fundamental importance to the history of the common law of obligations.  First, when and why did the royal courts begin requiring the plaintiff to produce a writing under the defendant's seal as proof of their covenant? Second, how, when, and why did the remedy in actions of covenant change? Professor Biancalana's answers are careful, insightful, and persuasive. They show a remarkable command of legal nuance and are the product of exhaustive research in the surviving manuscripts. Important in its conclusions and meticulous in its detail, this article fully merits the Sutherland Prize for 2003."

J. Willard Hurst Summer Institute in Legal History, June 19-24, 2005

The American Society for Legal History and the Institute for Legal Studies at the University of Wisconsin Law School are pleased to invite applications for the third biennial J. Willard Hurst Summer Institute in Legal History. The purpose of the Hurst Summer Institute is to advance the approach to legal scholarship fostered by J. Willard Hurst in his teaching, mentoring, and scholarship. The "Hurstian  perspective" emphasizes the importance of understanding law in context; it is less concerned with the characteristics of law as developed by formal legal institutions than with the way in which positive law manifests itself as the "law in action." The Hurst Summer Institute assists scholars from law, history, and other disciplines in pursuing research in legal history.

The 2005 Hurst Institute will be led by senior legal history scholars who will be announced at a later date. (The 2003 session was cochaired by Lawrence M. Friedman, Marion Rice Kirkwood Professor of Law at Stanford University, and Robert W. Gordon, Chancellor Kent Professor of Law and Legal History at Yale University.) The program also will include visiting faculty and guest lecturers. The two week program is structured but informal, and features discussions of core readings in legal history and analysis of the work of the participants in the Institute.

The general format includes daily sessions Monday-Friday that run through early afternoon, a few scheduled social events, and ample free time for additional discussion, reading and research. Fellows will have the opportunity to conduct archival work at the Wisconsin Historical Society. The Society holds a vast array of primary documents and is particularly strong in areas involving nineteenth and twentieth century social movements and labor activism. In addition, the Library possesses an excellent collection of federal and state government material which is largely un-cataloged. The Society offers open stacks, liberal copying policies, and is open six days a week. 

The ASLH Hurst Selection Committee will select up to twelve Fellows to participate in this event.

Applicant Qualifications
Preference will be given to applications from scholars in the early stage of their career (beginning faculty members, doctoral students who have completed or almost completed their dissertations, and J.D. graduates with appropriate backgrounds). More advanced scholars may also apply.

Fellowship Requirements
Fellows are expected to be in residence for the entire two-week term of the Institute, to participate in all activities of the Institute, and to give an informal works-in-progress presentation in the second week of the Institute.

Fellowship Terms
The Institute for Legal Studies will pay for approved travel expenses and will provide a private hotel room for each fellow at The Lowell Inn and Conference Center, located on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Most meals will be provided.

Application Process
To apply, submit the following materials and arrange to have two letters of recommendation sent to the Institute for Legal Studies, Hurst Selection Committee, UW Law School, 975 Bascom Mall, Madison, WI, 53706-1399. Please submit the original and six copies (total = 7) of your application packet, which must include the following:

1. Cover sheet with your name and complete contact information.
2. Curriculum Vitae.
3. Statement of Purpose (maximum 500 words) describing your current work, specific research interests, and what you hope to gain by attending the Institute.
4. Estimated travel costs (airfare or mileage plus any other travel related expenses).

It is not necessary to arrange for multiple copies of the letters of recommendation.

Deadlines
Applications will be accepted from September 1, 2004 - January 15, 2005.
Decisions will be announced by March 15, 2005 .

Questions about the Hurst Summer Institute may be directed to the Hurst Institute Coordinator: Pam Hollenhorst, Associate Director, Institute for Legal Studies, at <pshollen@wisc.ed > or <ils@law.wisc.edu >.

The Institute for Legal Studies offers systematic support for research and associated scholarly activity related to the "law in action," as distinguished from doctrinal analysis of the "law on the books." The Institute promotes the exchange, testing, and dissemination of ideas at the UW Law School through colloquia, workshops, conferences, and the hosting of visitors. For more information about ILS, Legal History and comments from participating fellows at the 2001 and 2003 Hurst Summer Institutes, consult the ILS webpage at < http://www.law.wisc.edu/ils/ >.

Paul L. Murphy Award

Applications are being accepted for the 2005 Paul L. Murphy Award, honoring the memory of Paul L. Murphy, late Professor of History and American Studies at the University of Minnesota and distinguished scholar of U.S. constitutional history and the history of American civil rights/civil liberties.  The Murphy Award, an annual research grant of $1,500, is intended to assist the research and publication of scholars new to the field of U.S. constitutional history or the history of American civil rights/civil liberties.  To be eligible for the Murphy Award, an applicant must possess the following qualifications: be engaged in significant research and writing on U.S. constitutional history or the history of civil rights/civil liberties in the United States, with preference accorded to applicants employing multi-disciplinary research approaches; hold the Ph.D. in History or a related discipline; and not yet have published a book-length work in U.S. constitutional history or the history of American civil rights/civil liberties.  Public historians, unaffiliated scholars, as well as faculty at academic institutions are encouraged to apply.  If employed by an institution of higher learning, an applicant must not be tenured at the time of the application.  Applicants should submit a packet containing 4 copies of each of the following items: 1) a research project description of no more than 1000 words, 2) a tentative budget of anticipated expenses, and 3) a current curriculum vitae.  In addition, applicants should request two referees to prepare confidential letters of recommendation.  Applicant packets and letters of recommendation should be mailed to Professor John W. Johnson, Department of History, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614-0701.  All materials must be received no later than April 1, 2005.  E-mail inquiries should be addressed to <john.johnson@uni.edu>.

Cromwell Foundation Initiative

The William Nelson Cromwell Foundation announces the availability of a number of awards for 2005, intended to support research and writing in American legal history. The number of awards to be made, and their value, is at the discretion of the Foundation.  Preference will be given scholars at an early stage of their careers.

Applicants will be required to submit a description of a proposed project, a budget, timeline, and two letters of recommendation from academic referees.

Applications must be received no later than June 30th.   Successful applicants will be notified by mid-November, and an announcement of the awards will also be made at the annual meeting of the American Society of Legal History.

To request an application form, write to:

Professor Barbara Aronstein Black
Columbia Law School
435 W. 116th Street
New York, NY 10027


Cromwell Prize

The William Nelson Cromwell Foundation will award a $5000 annual prize for
excellence in scholarship in the field of American Legal History by a
junior scholar, beginning in 2004.

The prize is designed to recognize and promote new work in the field by graduate students, law students, and faculty not yet tenured.  The work may be in any area of American Legal History, including constitutional and comparative studies, but scholarship in the colonial and early national periods will receive some preference.

The prize will be awarded annually by the Foundation on the recommendation of a committee of the American Society for Legal History, which will consider all work published, or dissertations accepted, in the previous calendar year.  It will announce the award at the annual meeting of the Society in the following autumn.

Candidates should send a hard copy version (no electronic submissions) to
each member of the committee postmarked no later than July 15:

Professor David T. Konig, Chair
Department of History
Washington University in St. Louis
Campus Box 1062
One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, Missouri 63130

Professor Barbara Aronstein Black
George Welwood Murray Professor of Legal History
Columbia Law School
435 West 116th St.
New York, New York 10027-7297

Professor Charles W. McCurdy
Professor of History and Law
Chair, Corcoran Department of History
Randall Hall, P.O. Box 400180
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia 22904

Professor Richard Ross
Professor of Law and History
University of Illinois College of Law
504 E. Pennsylvania Avenue
Champaign, IL 61820

Professor Barbara Y. Welke
Department of History
University of Minnesota
614 Social Sciences Tower
267 19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455

Click here to view list of past award winners.