The 2027 Hurst Summer Institute in Legal History will take place June 13-27, 2027. The Institute will be chaired by John Fabian Witt, Allen H. Duffy Class of 1960 Professor of Law at Yale Law School and Bhavani Raman, Associate Professor of History and Associate Chair at University of Toronto.

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Invitation

The American Society for Legal History (ASLH) and the Institute for Legal Studies at University of Wisconsin Law School are pleased to invite applications for the 13th biennial Hurst Summer Institute in Legal History. The two-week program features presentations by guest scholars, discussions of core readings in legal history and analysis of the work of the participants in the Institute. The Hurst Institute is not primarily intended to provide time to write or work on a research project, but instead to present your work and discuss the craft of writing legal history.

  

Application Process

Applications for the Institute will be available Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, and accepted until Friday, Jan. 15, 2027.

To apply, applicants must:

1. Submit the following materials as a single PDF document:

• Cover Letter

• Curriculum Vitae

• Research Agenda (of no more than 2,500 words)

2. Arrange to have two letters of recommendation uploaded as a PDF file. Recommendations must be on institutional letterhead and signed. Letters that contextualize the applicant’s scholarship and highlight the contributions it makes within the relevant subfield are most helpful to the committee in evaluating candidates. Comments on the applicant’s collegiality and participation in seminars and other scholarly events are also helpful.

Please note that incomplete applications will not be accepted. Applicants will be notified of a decision no later than Wednesday, March 3, 2027.

Applicant Qualifications

Scholars in law, history and other disciplines pursuing research on legal history of any part of the world and all time periods are eligible to apply. The seminar and written materials are conducted in English, and we cannot consider non-anglophone applications. Applicants with no formal training in legal history are encouraged to apply.

Traditionally, the selection committee has sought to create a cohort of fellows with varying degrees of familiarity with the field, and welcome applications from scholars at an early stage of their career (beginning faculty members, doctoral students who have completed or almost completed their dissertations and J.D. graduates).

Fellowship Information

The ASLH Hurst Selection Committee will select 12 Fellows to participate in this event.

  

Application Submission

Application Deadline: End of Day on Wednesday, January 15, 2027