Legal History

Within this community, students collaborate across universities in Europe and respective student groups on common themes through the use of active learning methods. Students work individually and collectively on a case study connected to the transversal theme of minority rights. The theme is studied from the perspective of legal history (i.e. the role of law in the treatment of minorities, and the influence of minorities on how we think in legal categories).

Through the activities, the community aims to enhance the potential for collaborative education through a blended teaching approach. Teaching is conducted in English, as well as in the different languages of the participating institutions, where it is relevant or necessary to highlight the specific cultural component of the cases treated. Students work across the campuses and use the architectural environment of their campuses and cities to convey their message. A case sometimes cannot be understood without reference to the past, but your individual and concrete experiences serve as our gateway to discussing and discovery.

Key learning outcomes: A thorough understanding of sources of law, the mobilisation of legal arguments in political and societal debates, critical analysis of and reflection on primary sources, engagement in debate with lecturers and fellow students..

Discover more about our work through our student’s blogposts and community updates here.

Various Activities

Overview

The peak event is a meeting where all institutions physically come together, after intense connected online cooperation on Teams. This will take place alongside an online exhibition of the elaborated material in a visually appealing way (embedded historical and legal documents, video clips, podcasts).

Meetings

Meetings with the lecturer and students of the same institution on a regular basis.

Online meetings with the students across the various institutions (both formally and informally), allow you to keep in touch, explore each others’ cases and share experiences on the new learning methods. One example of this is our EUTOPIA Coffee Corner.

Expertise

Expert interviews to provide substantive input for the project.

Events

A culminating event where all institutions come together, meet and exchange.  An online exhibition of the elaborated material in a visually appealing way (embedded historical and legal documents, video clips, podcasts).

Learning Community Activities

Upcoming Events

Peak event “The End(s) of War” – Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, 27-28 February 2026

The EUTopia Connected Learning Community Legal History will hold its annual peak event in Barcelona, where Prof. Alfons Aragoneses (Universitat Pompeu Fabra) welcomes student delegations from CY Cergy Paris Université (Prof. Caroula Argyriadis-Kervégan), Univerza v Ljubljani (Prof. Katja Škrubej) and Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Prof. Frederik Dhondt).
For programme and all details, please check the Legal History blog.

Past Events

Opening Lecture:
After 1919 and after 1945: How two World Wars shaped German Thinking on International Law
by Prof. dr. Miloš VEC (Universität Wien)
Practicalities:
* Friday 14 November 15:00 Brussels time
* Online via Microsoft Teams
* To register: please contact the CLC-lead frederik.dhondt@vub.be
For more info, please check the Legal History blog.

* Peak Event Individual and collective rights in Legal History, Warwick – 13-15 March 2025

Programme: follow this link

The EUTOPIA Connected Learning Community (CLC) Legal History recently convened in Warwick for its annual Peak Event on this year’s theme, “Collective and Individual Rights in Legal History”. The occasion, which was this CLC’s fourth of the kind, brought together students and staff from across the alliance to engage in discussions on legal history, research collaboration, and contemporary academic challenges. With the added delight of exceptionally nice weather (by British standards), the event provided a vibrant space for intellectual exchange and community building.

This year gathered a diverse cohort of students and faculty members from various EUTOPIA members. The travelling delegation included six students from Ljubljana, five from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, and five from CY Cergy Paris Université. Warwick’s students, led by Dr. Rosie Doyle, also participated despite their demanding end-of-term schedules. The Warwick Innovation Hub provided a splendid setting thanks to its interactive format that encouraged collaboration. Mixed tables ensured that attendees could engage in meaningful conversations and facilitate deeper intellectual exchanges.

The event also welcomed Dr. Charles Walton, a prominent scholar working on social rights and the French Revolution, who had previously delivered the CLC’s keynote lecture in November on social rights. His involvement in discussions opened up new possibilities for integrating research initiatives into the CLC’s activities, potentially expanding its reach scope.

Beyond academic discussions, the occasion offered an immersive cultural experience. Participants explored the Warwick campus, with its impressive new Arts Faculty building, and ventured beyond to visit Coventry Cathedral, a powerful symbol of post-war reconstruction. Excursions to Kenilworth Castle, famously associated with Robert Dudley (queen Elisabeth I’s favourite), provided historical insights into English early modernity. The VUB and CY delegation extended their visit with trips to London’s British Museum, National Portrait Gallery, and British Library, further enriching their historical and cultural perspectives.

Despite minor challenges, such as busy train traffic on the League Cup’s Final day, the event proceeded smoothly. The unfortunate illness of certain colleagues did not disrupt the proceedings, as hybrid participation options allowed them to contribute remotely.

The gathering in Warwick marked another successful milestone for the Legal History CLC, following past Peak Events in Paris (2022), Ljubljana (2023), and Brussels (2024). The event underscored the importance of transnational research in concert with collaborative learning and community engagement. With the upcoming formal event report and blog contributions, reflections on this event are expected to be enriched further.

Following the 2024 Legal History CC Peak Event in Brussels, the participating History students at the University of Warwick released a podcast episode sharing their thoughts about this unforgettable experience and the presentations they gave:
Ash Fowkes-Gajan: The Italian Risorgimento as a Fragmented Paradigm: Was Italy, by 1871, any more than a ‘mere geographical expression’?
Mayukha Rodrigo: Indian Indenture and its Effect on Modern Demographics and Politics
Nia Belcher: Penal Transportation in the Nineteenth-Century: Britain and Australia
Tom Posnic-Boyce: Afro-Latin American Legacies
Dr Rosie Doyle, Assistant Professor in Latin American History at the University of Warwick, who accompanied them also provides some insights.
Listen to the podcast episode on Spotify.

* Peak Event Connectedness in Legal History, Brussels – 14-15 March 2024

The EUTOPIA Connected Learning Community Legal History works on the theme Connectedness in the academic year 2023-2024. 

Students from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Prof. Frederik Dhondt), CY Paris University (Prof. Caroula Argyriadis-Kervégan), the University of Ljubljana (Prof. Katja Skrubej), the University of Warwick (Dr. . Rosie Doyle) and Nova University of Lisbon (Prof. Cristina Nogueira da Silva) will work together, both virtually and in-person (at the Peak Event, 14-15 March 2024, in Brussels) around the theme Connectedness in legal history. We will focus on multilevel governance, legal transfers, circulation of ideas and advocacy in various legal spaces, highlighting the relativity of the Nation-State as a point of departure for legal history and the richness of the various legal traditions connected to our institutions and jurisdictions. 

Conformably to the European University EUTopia’s strategic orientation, we highlight student-driven connected learning communities, with the involvement of external experts, wherein multilingualism is an important aspect: the primary legal sources from the past (legislation, doctrine, case law, potentially also other archival sources) presented by our students are embedded in their own legal tradition and culture, involving national and regional languages.

Student podcasts – “Spanish Republican Exiles”

* Peak Event Labor Migration, Ljubljana – 9-12 March 2023

As part of the Eutopia Legal History project on “Labor immigration” a workshop was organized from March 9 to 12, 2023 at the University of Ljubljana.
During the day of March 10, the students of the member universities exchanged the results of their research, and initiated collaboration projects for the future.
The meeting was an opportunity to visit the beautiful city of Ljubljana, its castle, the old assembly, the university and the library.
On Saturday, March 11, the students and their teachers visited the city of Trieste, an important port for immigration and the Maritime Museum in the city of Piran on the Adriatic coast.

* Peak Event Minority Rights, CY – 18-19 February 2022

Online exhibition – Legal History : Minority rights
Discover our students’ output either on this blog, or on the virtual exhibition on Miro !

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