Sally Engle Merry awarded a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, at Convocation 2013

The Faculty of Law is delighted to present the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, to Sally Engle Merry, who will deliver the commencement address at the Spring Convocation on Friday, May 31, at 10 a.m.

A professor of Anthropology in the Institute for Law and Society at New York University, Sally Engle Merry is among the most distinguished scholars of law and society in the world today, and the leading legal anthropologist in the United States.

“Sally Engle Merry is a thoughtful, prolific, world-class scholar who examines how seemingly universal legal norms are reshaped and translated in different local contexts around the globe,” says Daniel Jutras, Dean of McGill University’s Faculty of Law. “She offers a compelling account of the interaction of law and culture, tackling complex problems in the real world.”

With outstanding scholarship on human rights, colonialism, gender, race, class, conflict resolution, violence against women, local justice and popular justice, Merry has established herself as a towering figure in the Law and Society movement. Her most recent work, Human Rights Monitoring and the Question of Indicators, addresses some of the most challenging issues surrounding international human rights norms.

“We think of the bestowal of honorary degrees as a meaningful opportunity to give expression to some of the Faculty of Law’s values and aspirations,” adds Dean Jutras. “It is a great honor for the Faculty to invite Sally Engle Merry to join the McGill community.”