The 2014 Conference – Reflections from the Organizing Committee
When sitting down for our first meeting, we had before us a clear goal: to design, prepare for, and execute a conference that would bring together a diverse, international group of scholars in a stimulating, supportive and welcoming environment; the purpose of this endeavour was not only intellectual exchange, but also the enrichment and development of its participants. With the 2014 conference now come and gone, we believe these aims achieved and the conference a marked success.
This year saw participants stemming from twelve different universities and travelling from as far as 3500km Southwest of Montréal (Tucson, Arizona) and 5500km Northeast (Brussels, Belgium). Our fifteen graduate panelists gave fascinating and informative presentations on a range of topics, and were challenged and encouraged by an attentive audience. New relationships were formed at the workshop, coffee breaks, lunches, and cocktail. Our two keynote speakers inspired, encouraged, and reminded us of our responsibilities. We also inaugurated the Conference’s Development Programme, which entailed both a Skills Development Workshop and a Peer Feedback Programme. In all, we are proud to have shared in this event with you.
Of course, the credit for this success lay not with us, but with a variety of dedicated and generous individuals within our faculty, other McGill faculties and departments, local businesses, and separate universities. We would like to sincerely thank everyone who played a role in making this conference a success:
- Each of our sponsors, in particular the office of Associate Dean Angela Campbell
- Our five panel chairs: Professor Shauna Van Praagh, Professor Richard Janda, Professor Allison Christians, Professor Frédéric Mégret, and Annyssa Bellal
- Our two keynote speakers: Professor H Patrick Glenn and Professor Kristine Huskey
- Our fifteen panelists
- Chris Corkery
- Professor Marie Manikis
- The many conference volunteers
- Maria Marcheschi
- Michelle Sarrazin
- McGill Printing Services, in particular James Warne
- McGill IT Services
- Gourmaison Catering
- The Thomson House staff
- Pina Ricco
- Thomas Chalmers
- Margaret Baratta
- Briana Nowe
- Every conference participant, and
- The Organizing Committees of past years on whose previous efforts we built
In addition to the gratitude we feel for past efforts and the fond reflections we have on this year's conference, we are also looking to the future, excited to build on this year’s success in pursuit of our ultimate aim – establishing McGill as the site of Canada’s leading graduate conference in law.
Thank you for bringing us towards that goal, and we look forward to seeing you in 2015!
-The 2014 Conference Organizing Committee
About The Conference
McGill’s Annual Graduate Conference in Law: Where McGill’s history meets law’s future"
Established in 2008, McGill’s Annual Graduate Conference in Law has quickly grown beyond its originally North American focus to become truly international in character. A product of the Faculty’s commitment to original, innovative research and the cultivation of future legal scholars, the Conference welcomes graduate students from around the world with these two ends in mind. Accordingly, the Conference is not only built around rich intellectual exchange, but also the development of its participants – as communicators, community members, and thinkers. Each spring, with these goals in mind, conference organizers look to build on the success of previous years in a continued effort to establish McGill as the site of Canada’s leading graduate conference in law.
The 2014 Conference: “Emerging Scholars, Emerging Scholarship”
Framing our work as emerging scholarship translates into thinking of it as new contributions of knowledge and perspective, unique to our place in history. Seen in this way, our ability (and perhaps responsibility) to shape the future agenda of legal scholarship is highlighted. As such, this conference is intended as an opportunity to engage with those ideas that matter most to our generation of graduate students in law, and converse today with those who will shape tomorrow’s conversations.
Consistent with this perspective, and perhaps symbolic of our task to come, the theme of this conference will not be limited to any particular question or area of law. Our substantive agenda will be set by those questions and topics most important to graduate students wishing to participate. No boundaries have been set for submissions, and no limits for our possibilities.