Fall 2025 Events
September 16, 2025
"In their Own Words: Liberty in North Korea"
Speakers: Hannah Oh and Rose Jang
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Location: Lubar Commons (7200 Law)
A light lunch will be served on a first-come, first-served basis.
Sponsored by the East Asian Legal Studies Center, Center for East Asia, and the Human Rights Program.
September 23, 2025
"Law and AI: A Technologist's Guide to Governance and Integrity"
Speaker: Professor Mark Perry, University of New England, Australia & GLS Visiting Scholar
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Location: Lubar Commons (7200 Law)
This session leverages Professor Perry’s unique background to dissect the fast-moving AI landscape for a law school context. Drawing on his qualifications in computer science, his work as an IBM Faculty Fellow, and 100+ publications, Professor Perry clarifies authorship with AI assistance, demystifies model licensing, and embeds integrity and accountability in teaching and research. In keeping with the Wisconsin Idea, the focus is to discuss solutions that travel from campus to courtroom and public service.
A light lunch will be served on a first-come, first-served basis.
Sponsored by the Global Legal Studies Center.
October 13, 2025
Annual Soffa Lecture (25th Anniversary Celebration): "The Resistible Threat of Semiauthoritarianism"
Speaker: Dr. Marina Ottaway
Location: Alumni Lounge, Pyle Center
Schedule:
- 4:00 PM – 4:30 PM: Meet and greet for all HRP affiliates
- 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM: Soffa lecture, response by Professor Flavia Piovesan, and Q&A
Details available here: Soffa Lectures Information.
To facilitate planning, please register online by October 9, 2025 (walk-ins are also welcome).
October 20, 2025
Information Session on Study Abroad
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Location: Lubar Commons (7200 Law)
Details: Conducted by directors of exchange programs. Open to all interested law students.
November 12, 2025
International Organizations and You Speaker Series: "The World Health Organization Amidst Shifting Political and Legal Orders"
Speaker: Professor Matthew Kavanagh, Georgetown University
Time: 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM (includes reception)
Location: Lubar Commons (7200 Law)
Sponsored by GLS, Wisconsin School of Business, La Follette School of Public Affairs, Global Health Institute, Madison Committee on Foreign Relations, and Laurie Carlson Progressive Ideas Forum.
December 4, 2025
"Potential and Challenges of International Mediation"
Speaker: Professor Laurie Nathan, Notre Dame University
Host: Professor Heinz Klug
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Location: Lubar Commons (7200 Law)
In this talk, Professor Laurie Nathan will explore the dynamics of peacemaking in armed conflict.
About the speaker: Laurie Nathan is Professor and Director of the Mediation Program at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame. He has published widely on international mediation and has been a senior mediation advisor to the UN, the African Union, the European Union, and the governments of Germany, Kosovo, Switzerland, and South Africa.
December 10, 2025
Celebrating Human Rights Day: Civil Dialogue on Migration and Gender
Time: 3:30 PM – 6:00 PM
Location: Lubar Commons (7200 Law)
This two-part event will feature Professor Sara McKinnon (Communication Arts), Dr. Matt Wolfgram (Education), Professor Nick Syrett (Gender Studies), and Brian Juchems (GSAFE).
Sponsored by the Human Rights Program and the WI Institute for Citizenship and Civil Dialogue.
Spring 2026 Events
February 9, 2026
Follow-Up Information Session on Study Abroad
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Location: Lubar Commons (7200 Law)
Details: Conducted by directors of exchange programs. Open to all interested law students.
February 12, 2026
Book Launch & Panel Discussion: "Legal Resistance to Autocracy: The Global Fight to Save Democracy"
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Location: Lubar Commons (7200 Law)
Please join us for a discussion of the new book Legal Resistance to Autocracy: The Global Fight to Save Democracy, which evolved from a conference held at UW Law School in September 2023. Professors Richard Abel (UCLA), Oscar Vilhena Vieira (FGV, São Paulo, Brazil), and Heinz Klug (UW Law) will discuss their contributions to the volume. The book brings together leading scholars on the legal consequences of backsliding democracies in a wide variety of countries, including the United States, Israel, Hungary, South Africa, China, Russia, and Brazil.
For more information, visit the Routledge Book Page.
February 19, 2026
"Bend It: Queer Coding in South Asian Popular Culture and Law"
Speaker: Professor Swethaa Ballakrishnen, Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Development and Professor of Law, UC Irvine
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Location: 206 Ingraham Hall
About the lecture: In this article, I use Bend It Like Beckham ("BILB" 2002, dir. Gurinder Chadha) as a starting point to critically theorize about law and the mainstream representation of queerness in South Asia. BILB follows the friendship of British Indian "Jess" Bhamra and Jules Paxton and their mutual passion for soccer. Although it was ripe with many queer undertones between the two lead characters, and despite many other nodes of subversion (raunchy humor by Indian aunties, girls playing sports, a tomboy Keira Knightley in her first ever appearance!), the movie ended with a much less plausible suggestion of a hetero romance between Jess and her football coach. I use this movie to consider the subtle queer coding that was typical of cinematic representation of queer narratives—to be present in plain sight—that determined early queer South Asian representation and assumptions of legality and propriety.
Sponsored by the Global Legal Studies Center and the Center for South Asia.
March 7, 2026
International Women's Day
Time: 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Location: Gordon Dining and Event Center, UW-Madison
Sponsored by AFRICaide and 4W; co-sponsored by the Human Rights Program.
March 19, 2026
Lunch & Learn on Climate Change: "Climate Change and Conflict: Causal Evidence Using New Machine Learning Methods"
Speaker: Professor Jeremy Foltz, Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics, UW-Madison
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Location: 3260 Law
About the lecture: Armed conflict remains a major barrier to development and human security across Africa. We ask whether and how climate shocks affect conflict incidence by developing an integrated framework that combines high-resolution satellite data with machine-learning causal inference.
Sponsored by the WI Initiative on Law & Climate Change, Global Legal Studies Center, and Human Rights Program.
