Welcome to the Center for the Study of Law and Society (CSLS)

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Hank Willis Thomas 'Raise Up' Statue, National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Montgomery Alabama (Getty Images)

Criminal Justice

Hank Willis Thomas 'Raise Up' Statue, National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Montgomery Alabama (Getty Images)

Lighting the World Protesting Darkness, Fayek Tasneem Khan (Getty Images)

Democracy and Civil Society

Lighting the World Protesting Darkness, Fayek Tasneem Khan (Getty Images)

Martin Luther King Jr's speech 'I Have A Dream' at the Lincoln Memorial (public domain)

Inequality

Martin Luther King Jr's speech 'I Have A Dream' at the Lincoln Memorial (public domain)

CSLS is now accepting applications for the 2025 CSLS Frances Coles Summer Research Grants!

Applications will be accepted until April 15, 2025. Click here for more information about this opportunity and to submit an application.
The Center for the Study of Law and Society

The Center supports theoretically-based, empirical research on new developments at the interplay of law and society in contemporary and historical contexts.  While part of Berkeley's School of Law, the Center fosters a multidisciplinary context in which UC Berkeley faculty and graduate students from many departments interact and engage with visiting socio-legal scholars from universities in the United States and abroad.

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The 2023-24 CSLS Annual Report is now available! Click here to access the report.

CSLS  Speaker Series
Monday, March 17, 2025

"Expressive Law, Social Norms, and Inequality"

Catherine Albiston
Jackson H. Ralston Professor of Law and Professor of Sociology, Faculty Director of CSLS, UC Berkeley

Cosponsored by the Center for Race and Gender

Location:
Phillip Selznick Seminar Room,
2240 Piedmont Ave.

Time:
Program 12:45-2:00p.m.
Lunch: 12:15-12:45p.m.

Click here for the event flyer.
Click here to register for the livestream via Zoom. 
Registration is not required to attend this event in person.

CSLS Visiting Scholar Speaker Series
Thusday, March 20, 2025

"Militarization of Security and State Violence in Brazil: Between Authoritarianism and Democracy"

Pedro Camargos
Ph.D. Candidate in Sociology, University of São Paulo, Brazil

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"Civil Lawfare: Monetary Punishment & Disability in Pay-to-Stay Lawsuits"

April Fernandes
Associate Professor of Sociology, North Carolina State University

Click here to read the full paper.

Location:
Phillip Selznick Seminar Room,
2240 Piedmont Ave.

Time:
April Fernandes: 3:30-4:15p.m.
Pedro Camargos: 4:15-5:00p.m.

Click here for the event flyer.

Jenae Carpenter, Ph.D. Candidate in Sociology, shares her experience as a 2023-2024 BELS Fellow.

Click here to view more interviews featuring former CSLS BELS Fellows

The Center for the Study of Law and Society is pleased to announce that we are now accepting submissions for the 2025 CSLS Graduate Student Paper Prize!

Paper submissions and proof of current program registration in PDF format are due by Friday, May 2, 2025. For more information about the program, eligibility, and application requirements, visit our website here. Inquiries may be sent to CSLS at csls@law.berkeley.edu.

CSLS former and current Faculty and Executive Directors

Please consider making a donation to support CSLS.  

Donate $100 dollars or more and you will receive a CSLS t-shirt!  

Funds will support BELS Fellows, JSP Students, 60th anniversary conference, and crucial and timely programming focused on our three pillars of Criminal Justice, Inequality, and Democracy and Civil Society. 

Give to CSLS