Law in Societies
We bring together those with an interest in the rules, both formal and informal, by which social order has been organised at different times, in different cultures and in different contexts.
About the Cluster
The Law in Societies Cluster provides an opportunity for Fellows of Wolfson, external speakers and a mixed academic and public audience to explore various facets of law and legal phenomena. The Cluster exists to serve everyone interested in the multiple forms in which law emerged, has then been interpreted and exercised across the world and through history.
The Law in Societies Cluster arranges a variety of events, including one public lecture a term, panel discussions, ‘author meets reader’ sessions, and more.
The Cluster also sponsors a multidisciplinary graduate students’ discussion group in the College to support students from a variety of fields of knowledge whose projects touch upon socio-legal issues broadly defined.
The Cluster is co-convened by Dr Marina Kurkchiyan, Supernumerary Fellow of Wolfson College, and Professor Linda Mulcahy, Fellow of the College Governing Body.
Forthcoming events
The Socio-Legal Dynamics of Financial Markets Workshop
Date: 11 June 2026, 9:30am–12:30pm
Location: Levett Room, Wolfson College
The workshop is a companion event to Wolfson College’s inaugural Adams Lecture, delivered by Dr Gillian Tett from 6–7pm on the same day.
The Law in Societies Research Cluster is delighted to host The Socio-Legal Dynamics of Financial Markets, a workshop bringing together socio-legal scholars to explore how political economy shapes the research questions we pose and the experiences of those we study. Drawing on law and political economy scholarship, the papers will focus on empirical studies of the role that law and market capitalism play in the construction and persistence of private power and injustice.
This workshop is free to attend. More information about the workshop schedule and speakers can be found here.
——
Call for Applications: Social Class and Law Workshop
Date: 9 September 2026, 9:30am – 6:00pm
Location: Wolfson College
Application Form: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/vMch7sND1H
Application Deadline: 30 June 2026, 6:00pm BST
Applicants will be informed of their application outcome by 10 July 2026.
The Law in Societies Research Cluster at Wolfson College and the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, University of Oxford, invite PhD students and Early Career Researchers in Law to apply to participate in a one-day workshop on Social Class and Law, taking place on 9 September 2026 from 9:30am – 6:00pm.
This one-day workshop is designed for legal scholars interested in researching social class in the legal profession, substantive law and/or legal procedure and processes. It aims to provide attendees with a broad grounding in the social class literature to support current or future research projects that consider how law and legal process hold the potential to contribute to or disrupt the construction of class.
Speakers: Professor Mike Savage (London School of Economics), Professor Diane Reay (University of Cambridge), Dr Conor McCabe (Dublin City University), Dr Adam Elliott-Cooper (Queen Mary University of London), Professor Jo Littler (Goldsmiths, University of London), Dr Alexandra Kelbert (University College London), Dr Rima Saini (Middlesex University).
Workshop Programme: Session 1: Theories of Social Class; Session 2: Social Class, Poverty, and Neoliberalism; Session 3: Social Class, Race, and Gender; Session 4: Social Class Research in Legal Settings.
This workshop is free to attend. Lunch and refreshments will be provided, but we are unable to fund travel costs. This is an in-person only event.
Contact: If you have any questions, please email Vanessa Long (Centre for Socio-Legal Studies, Oxford) at vanessa.long@csls.ox.ac.uk.
If you wish to join our mailing list, please let us know by emailing lawinsocieties@wolfson.ox.ac.uk.
