Call for Panel and Paper Proposals 2023: Annual Meeting of the American Society of Comparative Law, June 15, 2023

Florida International University College of Law, Miami, Florida

The American Society of Comparative Law, the leading organization in the United States promoting the comparative study of law, and the Florida International University College of Law invite all interested scholars, practitioners and advanced degree students to submit a proposal for a paper presentation or a concurrent panel for the upcoming Annual Meeting of the American Society of Comparative Law. The meeting will be held from Thursday, October 26 to Saturday, October 28, 2023, at the Florida International University College of Law in Miami, Florida. The meeting will take place in person.

The theme of this year’s Annual Meeting is Comparative Comparative Law. Comparative law is an effective tool of political struggle – a source of authority for some positions as well as a basis of resistance for others – although not always perceived this way. Its particularities across the domains where it is practiced transcend differences of method. They involve different images of comparative law itself, specific distributive stakes, and particular understandings often reproducing hierarchies between the Global North and the Global South, Western and Asian values, modernity and tradition.  As such, an apt description of comparative law’s many varieties may be best captured by the reference to comparative comparative law. That is, varieties of legal comparativism in different arenas – and not simply a unified transnational field – better signifies its multiple valences and uses in different political economies. This conference is dedicated to exploring those multiple forms of comparative law that appear as neutral techniques across various sites of contestation.

We invite all those interested to submit proposals for paper presentations and concurrent panels. We welcome proposals for papers and panels on this year’s theme, for instance on the diverse comparativisms practiced by international financial institutions, legal reformers in specific national settings, human rights organizations, identity legal activists, and other actors in their respective domains. The theme, however, is only suggestive. We also invite proposals on comparative law topics different from the main theme of the Annual Meeting, recognizing the venue’s function as a forum for comparative law debate. The Annual Meeting will have time slots for concurrent panels on Friday, October 27 and Saturday, October 28, 2023. Concurrent panel proposals should include: three to four speakers whose willingness to participate is confirmed, a panel title, and a one to two paragraph description. It is anticipated that the panels will be mostly in English, but the ASCL also welcomes languages other than English in accordance with its mission of fostering multilingualism.  Individual paper proposals should include a title and abstract.

Proposals should be submitted via e-mail to ASCL2023@fiu.edu on or before June 15, 2023. The Annual Meeting Program Committee of the American Society of Comparative Law will select panels and papers in consultation with Florida International University College of Law. Decisions regarding accepted proposals will be made by mid-August 2023. Those submitting concurrent panel and paper proposals should be aware that the ASCL’s reimbursement policy with its limit per ASCL member school applies and that only faculty from ASCL member schools are eligible for reimbursement. There is no additional funding available to assist participants with travel or related costs. Any questions about the paper or concurrent panel proposals should be addressed to Professor Jorge Esquirol at esquirol@fiu.edu and Professor Francesca Bignami, Chair of ASCL Annual Program Committee, at fbignami@law.gwu.edu.