CrimSL is proud to have cosponsored the fourth Legal Histories of Empire conference on the theme "Empires in Touch." Over 180 scholars from around the world attended in-person and virtual sessions presented at U of T from July 10 to 12, 2025.
The conference featured 140 presentations across 12 panel sessions; a pre-conference workshop hosted at the Faculty of Law; a public roundtable discussion titled "Empires in Touch: Comparing Notes from Toronto"; and a keynote address by Professor Mitra Sharafi of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, "Studying Secrets in the Legal History of Empire."
CrimSL's Professor Catherine Evans Chair of the Local Arrangements Committee, credits CrimSL with "essential administrative and logistical support." She coordinated with Program Committee Co-Chairs Lyndsay Campbell of the University of Calgary Faculty of Law and Shaunnagh Dorsett of University of Technology Sydney. Evans and Campbell co-led the successful SSHRC Connection grant which partially funded the conference. As a scholar in attendance, Evans presented a paper related to her current research on the history of arson in the British empire.
Former CrimSL Director Professor Jim Phillips of the Faculty of Law, Editor-in-Chief at the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, facilitated the pre-conference workshop on the papers of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.
Former CrimSL faculty member Professor Mary X. Mitchell, now of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, chaired the public roundtable event about teaching and researching the history of empire featuring U of T's Professor Cindy Ewing, Professor Melanie Newton, and Professor Heidi Bohaker. Mitchell also co-chaired a professional development seminar on book publishing.
Previous LHE conferences took place in Ireland (2022), Barbados (2018) and Singapore (2012). Visit LHE's website to learn more about this scholarly collective.
Legal Histories of Empire Conference: "Empires in Touch" was supported in part by funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada; Legal Histories of Empire (LHE); Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies; Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History; University of St. Michael's College at U of T; University of Technology (Sydney); and Max Planck Institute.
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Explore the Legal Histories of Empire "Empires in Touch" conference program.