Final Application Deadline: January 20 at 11:59pm
The Collegium Institute invites you to apply for the Spring 2022 Fellowship program in the Legal Humanities. The program welcomes a small group of fellows from the University of Pennsylvania to participate in six seminar-style discussion sessions. The discussions will be facilitated by academics and professionals in law, history, and philosophy. The seminars seek to cultivate reflection on the relationship between law and the good life, exploring questions like: How can law — its substance and practice — help us to become more fully human?
This semester, we will consider the meaning of the common good as a philosophical and legal principle. We will then explore the common good in relation to several fields of law to see both how the principle is already in practice and how the principle would change legal practice if it was more deeply engaged in.
Alumni of the Fellowship are eligible to participate again in the Spring 2022 semester, as all of the readings and speakers will be new. To learn about past semesters' speakers, readings, and topics, click here.
Time & Dates: The meetings will take place from 12pm–1:15pm on the following Mondays:
January 24, 2022
January 31, 2022
February 7, 2022
February 14, 2022
February 21, 2022
February 28, 2022
Location: This Fellowship will meet at the University of Pennsylvania in the ARCH Building, Room 108.
Applications: Applications are due January 20. This Fellowship is open to current Penn undergraduate and graduate students. Alumni of the Fellowship are eligible to participate again in the Spring 2022 semester, as all of the readings and speakers will be new. To learn about past semesters' speakers, readings, and topics, click here.
Please direct any questions you may have to Dr. Terence Sweeney (tsweeney@collegiuminstitute.org).
Legal Humanities Fellows
Julia Fischer
Julia Fischer (C’24) is a sophomore and Benjamin Franklin Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania from Northern Virginia, double-majoring in Political Science and Hispanic Studies. Her academic interests include political philosophy and human rights, and she is specifically interested in studying constitutional law and immigration law. Outside of classes, she enjoys participating in Collegium's programming as an Undergraduate Fellow, and working for The Daily Pennsylvanian as a Deputy Copy Editor.
Ethan Rutta
Ethan Rutta (C’24) is a sophomore studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is from Long Island, New York, where he was raised by his parents along with two sisters. Before starting at Penn, he took a gap year to learn about religious culture and texts while living in Jerusalem, Israel. In his free time, he loves to read, hang out with friends, and primarily watch and play sports; he is a huge New York Sports fan and will almost never miss a Knicks game.
Kaden Stenger
Kaden (C’22) is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences that studies how the field and theories of economics intersect with our non-financial choices, specifically with religious choices. He is a native of the Great Mountain state of West Virginia and hopes to work in policy, government, and business with the goal of bettering his home.
Harald Erici
Harald (C’22) is a senior from Sweden studying Philosophy, Politics & Economics. Much of his academic work at Penn has been in research on topics such as the geopolitics of climate change, good governance & development, and also theological issues in literature. Outside school, Harald is starting out his career in venture capital with a focus towards innovations in biotechnology and plant medicine. After several semesters of Zoom University, he is excited to engage in interesting discussions with other students in-person through the Legal Humanities Fellowship.
Andrew Liu
Andrew (C’22) is a senior from Houston, TX studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics with minors in Legal Studies & History and Classical Studies. He has also studied Philosophy at Pembroke College, University of Cambridge for a semester. At Penn, he has been involved in various positions within the Penn Undergraduate Law Journal, Government and Politics Association, Alpha Chi Rho, and research at the Wharton School. Outside of school, Andrew enjoys traveling, nature trails, and attending opera and symphony performances at the Kimmel Center.
Jordan Ortiz
Jordan (C’25) is a proud New Jersey resident and dedicated student of American history. He is also a member of the Penn Sprint Football team and have an incredible passion for community service and political discourse.
Kate McNamara-Marsland
Kate (C’22) is a Senior in the College of Arts and Sciences originally from Cincinnati, Ohio. Some of her academic and advocacy interests include immigration, borders, and human rights. She aims to eventually attend law school and is always looking to expand and diversify her knowledge of the law and how it interacts with other disciplines.
Eric Jackson
Eric (C’23) is a junior in the College from Salt Lake City, Utah studying Philosophy and Computer Science. His interests range from logic and programming language design to the moral and legal issues facing our modern, and increasingly computer-based, society. Eric also enjoys spending time outdoors—particularly running on the Schuylkill River Trail—and reading Russian literature.
Gaelle Pierre-Louis
Gaelle Pierre-Louis is a second-year law student at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. Prior to law school, she worked as an Admissions Officer at Georgetown University, her undergraduate alma mater and completed her Master's in Education Policy at Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Sienna Horvath
Sienna Horvath (C’24) is an undergraduate student from Los Angeles, CA, studying Political Science with a minor in Legal Studies & History. She is particularly interested in finding ways to optimize common good through the law, as well as the intersection of law, society, and morality. Sienna is passionate about community-building as a Penn Mock Trial team captain and speech & debate coach.
Crystal Kang
Crystal Kang (C’22) hails from East Northport, New York, and is a Senior in the College of Arts & Sciences majoring in Physics with a concentration in Computer Techniques. In the future, she aims to bring her technical background into the legal profession to work in regulations related to white-collar crime. Aside from Legal Humanities, Crystal is involved in the Philomathean Society, Public Interest Technology @Penn, Society of Physics Students, Penn Undergraduate Law Journal, and interns at the Center for Technology, Innovation, and Competition at Carey Law.
Lindsey Perlman
Lindsey Perlman (C’23) is a junior in the College studying political science and journalistic writing. As a pre-law student, she is greatly interested in ethical issues that arise from the intersection of religion and schooling. Lindsey was previously a fellow for Collegium in fall 2021 and spends her free time as a freelance reporter for the Lehigh Valley Live and student journalist for The Daily Pennsylvanian.
Junbeom Park
Junbeom Park (C’23) is a student in the college majoring in PPE with a concentration in globalization. Junbeom has a profound interest in law, especially that regarding international business disputes, and is thus considering going to law school. He is currently studying how corruption affects economic development, which is another area that fascinates him. Outside of class, Junbeom likes to spend time writing fiction and watching mixed martial arts matches.
Jake Medvitz
Jake is a first-year Juris Doctor candidate at the Penn Carey Law School. He previously staffed Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr., coordinated logistics for political campaigns, and served as a congressional liaison at a govtech startup. He is broadly interested in the relationship between law, technology, and governance. Jake and his fiancée enjoy baking, travelling, cocktails, and Pittsburgh Steelers football.
Maria Bellacosa
Maria is an undergraduate student at the University of Pennsylvania (C’23), passionate about immigration policy and criminal justice reform. She is studying both Sociology and Hispanic Studies, with intentions on pursuing a career in the legal field. She hopes to utilize her education to provide legal aid to immigrants and refugees seeking asylum in the United States.