The H.L.A. Hart Memorial Lecture

 

The 40th Anniversary of the distinguished HLA Hart Memorial Lecture in honour of H.L.A Hart (1907-1992) will be given on May 12th, 2026 by Professor Danielle Allen, the James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University. The HLA Hart Memorial Lecture series is funded by the Tanner Lectures on Human Values in honour of Hart, who became Professor of Jurisprudence in 1952 and was the author of the highly influential book, The Concept of Law.  The lecture will be followed by a Q&A session. The lecture -- and only the lecture -- will be live-streamed and recorded for future use. 

The lecture will be held at 5pm in the College Chapel, Main Quad, University College on Tuesday 12 May 2026. The lecture will be followed by drinks at 6.15 pm.

We would be grateful if you could contact Manuela Williams (masters.pa@univ.ox.ac.uk) by Monday April 13 to let her know whether you plan to attend the lecture and, if so, whether you have any mobility requirements. 

 

The H.L.A. Hart Lecture in Jurisprudence and Moral Philosophy

1985: Richard Wollheim, 'Crime, Punishment, and Pale Criminality'
1986: John Rawls, 'The Idea of an Overlapping Consensus'
1987: Bernard Williams, 'Voluntary Acts and Responsible Agents'
1988: Quentin Skinner, 'The Idea of the State' (unpublished)
1989: William J. Brennan Jr, 'Why Have a Bill of Rights?'
1990: T.M. Scanlon, 'The Aims and Authority of Moral Theory'
1991: Joel Feinberg, 'In Defence of Moral Rights'
1992: Tony Honoré, 'The Dependence of Morality On Law'

The H.L.A. Hart Memorial Lecture

1996: Thomas Nagel, 'Justice and Nature'
1998: Stephen Breyer, 'The Work of an American Constitutional Judge' (published as 'Judicial Review')
2002: Sir John Laws, 'Beyond Rights'
2006: Jules L. Coleman, 'The Internal Point of View' (published as 'Beyond the Separability Thesis')  
2010: Amartya Sen, 'Rights and Responsibility' (published as 'Rights, Laws, and Language')
2012: Christine Korsgaard, 'Kantian Ethics, Animals, and the Law'
2013: Will Kymlicka, 'Animals and the Frontiers of Citizenship' (published version with Sue Donaldson)
2016: Margaret Jane Radin, 'Contract Law in the Information Society'
2019: Rae Langton, 'Reimagining Free Speech'
2020: Due to the corona virus pandemic, the Hart Lecture was moved to 2021
2021: Due to the corona virus pandemic, the Hart Lecture has been postponed to 2022
2022: Sally Haslanger, 'Social Justice, Culture, and Law'
2023: Jeremy Waldron, 'The Crisis of Judicial Review' 
2024: Anita L. Allen, 'Unconditional Love: Some Implications for the Law'
2025: Elizabeth Anderson, 'The Forgotten History of Utilitarianism'
2026: (40th Anniversary Lecture) Danielle Allen, May 12, 2026
2027: Josh Cohen, May 27, 2027
 

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