Mission The Vulnerability and the Human Condition Initiative has created an academic space within which scholars can imagine models of state responsibility that focus on the universal and constant vulnerability of human beings and their consequential and inevitable reliance on social relationships and institutions over the life course. These imperfect institutions and relationships are created and maintained by and through law, and, as such, their operation and effects on society should be views as at least partly the on-going responsibility of those who govern our societies. Read More >>
  Visiting Scholars Our visiting scholar program draws in scholars and activists from around the world. Initially launched as part of the Feminism and Legal Theory Project, the visiting scholars program is currently housed under the Vulnerability and Human Condition Initiative. Visiting Scholar residencies range from a week to a year or more. Visiting Scholars are provided with a shared office and library privileges, as well as access to Emory's vibrant community of scholars and other resources, including those of the Feminism and Legal Theory archive. Read More >>
  Workshops Workshops for the Vulnerability and the Human Condition Initiative are held throughout the year and give scholars an opportunity to share their work in a supportive and collegial environment. Each year, scholars working on a variety of traditional legal topics come together to explore how their analyses can benefit from the application of a vulnerability lens. Some topics recently considered include: globalization; labor, and the legal organization of work; the limits of social justice; business and corporate structures; the role of the family; and the need for environmental justice. Read More >>

Events

  • Feminist Judgment Series - Summer 2021
    The U.S. Feminist Judgments Project, together with the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, The Feminism and Legal Theory Project, The Vulnerability and the Human Condition Initiative, the Institute for Feminist Legal Studies at Osgoode, and the AALS Section on Women in Legal Education will host a Summer Feminist Legal Theory Series. The series is coordinated by Bridget J. Crawford (Pace) and Kathy Stanchi (UNLV). It will meet online via Zoom on Wednesdays from 2:00pm-3:00 Eastern/11am-12:00pm Pacific, starting June 2, 2021 and running for six sessions.
  • Property and Resilience
    April 23, 2021. This workshop, which will take the form of an extended active dialogue about several core themes/questions, will explore the role vulnerability theory can play in understanding and reimagining property law.
  • Vulnerability Theory, the Employment Relationship, and the State
    March 12-13, 2021. We intend this workshop to cover an array of topics that center on the legal and ideological or conceptual “evolution” of the corporation in relation to its legitimizing societal role in responding to human vulnerability. We welcome the participation of scholars working in law and related disciplines, including economics, community development, history, political science, sociology, and social psychology.
  • A Workshop on Vulnerability and Corporate Subjectivity
    This virtual Zoom workshop will draw on the analytical tools offered by vulnerability theory, allowing participants to think through the complex relationships between corporations as legal subjects, legal or state governance of corporate activity, and the hope to achieve goals of social justice within a neoliberal age.
Vulnerability in Conversation: Artificial Intelligence, "Ethical" Technology, and Vulnerability Theory
April 12, 2019
Bioethics and Universal Vulnerability: Exploring the Ethics and Practices of Research Participation
March 25, 2019
Relational Approaches: Vulnerability and Autonomy in Bioethics
August 23, 2018

News

Upcoming Workshops

  • A Workshop on Constructing an Ethical or Moral Approach to State Responsibility
    Human rights and human vulnerability theory are both concerned with the achievement of social justice and the role of the State in this endeavor. Their approaches to the State, however, are markedly different. We are pleased to announce a workshop on human rights and human vulnerability, bringing in dialogue the work of Professor Michael Perry on human rights and Professor Martha Albertson Fineman on human vulnerability. (Hosted by The Vulnerability and the Human Condition Initiative, Emory University School of Law, Atlanta, March 31-April 1, 2023).
  • Feminist Judgment Series - Summer 2021
    The U.S. Feminist Judgments Project, together with the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, The Feminism and Legal Theory Project, The Vulnerability and the Human Condition Initiative, the Institute for Feminist Legal Studies at Osgoode, and the AALS Section on Women in Legal Education will host a Summer Feminist Legal Theory Series. The series is coordinated by Bridget J. Crawford (Pace) and Kathy Stanchi (UNLV). It will meet online via Zoom on Wednesdays from 2:00pm-3:00 Eastern/11am-12:00pm Pacific, starting June 2, 2021 and running for six sessions.
  • Property and Resilience
    April 23, 2021. This workshop, which will take the form of an extended active dialogue about several core themes/questions, will explore the role vulnerability theory can play in understanding and reimagining property law.
  • Vulnerability Theory, the Employment Relationship, and the State
    March 12-13, 2021. We intend this workshop to cover an array of topics that center on the legal and ideological or conceptual “evolution” of the corporation in relation to its legitimizing societal role in responding to human vulnerability. We welcome the participation of scholars working in law and related disciplines, including economics, community development, history, political science, sociology, and social psychology.
  • A Workshop on Vulnerability and Corporate Subjectivity
    This virtual Zoom workshop will draw on the analytical tools offered by vulnerability theory, allowing participants to think through the complex relationships between corporations as legal subjects, legal or state governance of corporate activity, and the hope to achieve goals of social justice within a neoliberal age.