Max Planck Summer Academy for Legal History

Since 2014, the Institute has been organising the annual Max Planck Summer Academy for Legal History. Its aim is to provide roughly 20 early-stage researchers, usually PhD students, from all over the world with an in-depth introduction to basic approaches and methods of research in legal history.

The Academy aims to develop and enhance the ability of its participants to transfer legal terminologies and theories across linguistic and cultural contexts, thus providing a basis to build and consolidate international research networks.

Programme

The Summer Academy consists of three parts. The first part introduces the international group of PhD students to sources, methodological approaches and theoretical models, as well as to controversial research debates on fundamental research fields of legal history. The introductory courses are led by members of the Institute and external guest speakers. In the second part, the invited participants present their own projects within the context of the respective year’s special topic. The third part of the Academy offers the opportunity to all participants to further develop their own research by making use of the library and by discussing their projects with the Institute’s experts in the different fields of legal history.

Since longer events like the Academy always consist of more than just academic activities, a variety of extra-curricular activities will be offered, such as visits to nearby historical sites and several get-togethers in the evenings.

The Academy concludes with an examination and the award of certificates.

Conditions and Applications

The international call for the Summer Academy is generally published in October and addresses highly motivated early-career researchers with an interest in the basic research of historical formations and transformations of law and other normative orders. Apart from PhD students in legal studies and legal history, the Summer Academy attracts graduates from history, sociology and anthropology. The main criterion in the strict selection process is that the applicants are working on a research project (Master or PhD thesis) with a significant legal historical approach or perspective.

While a substantial working knowledge of English is required, German language skills are not a prerequisite.

In order to open up the Summer Academy to a broad spectrum of PhD students, the Institute provides accommodation for the participants and a limited number of travel grants.

The next course takes place from 8 to 19 July 2024 at the Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

The deadline for the Call for Applications is 31 January 2024.