Collegium Institute’s Legal Humanities Fellowship 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.

This semester's module, Legal Humanities: Foundations and New Frontiers, will cultivate reflection on the Legal Humanities project as a whole: how can the law — its substance and practice — help us and those we engage to become more fully human? While the fundamental questions being explored in this module are similar to those explored in the Fall 2020 semester, the readings and special guest facilitators will be new, so alumni of the Fellowship are eligible to participate again in Spring of 2021.

This Fellowship is open to students at the University of Pennsylvania. Please direct any questions you may have to the Fellowship's Director, Dr. Benjamin Brady at bbrady@collegiuminstitute.org.

Spring 2021 Fellowship Schedule and Curriculum

January 27 | Introduction: Law and the Common Good in a Time of Pandemic

Facilitator: Dr. Benjamin Brady (Faculty Director of Legal Humanities Program and Law Fellow, American Law Institute)
Reading: Excerpts from John Fabian Witt, American Contagions: Epidemics and the Law from Smallpox to COVID-19

February 3 | Litigating Religious Liberty

Facilitator: Nick Reaves (Legal Counsel, Becket Fund for Religious Liberty)
Readings: Becket's amicus brief in Harvest Rock Church, Inc. v. Gavin Newsom and the case summary for Becket's U.S. Supreme Court win in Agudath Israel of America v. Cuomo

February 10 | Choosing Law in a Globalized World

Facilitator: Dr. Chris Casey (Analyst of International Trade and Finance Section, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division of the Congressional Research Service)
Reading: Katharina Pistor, Chapter 1 and Chapter 6 of The Code of Capital: How the Law Creates Wealth and Inequality

February 17 | Policing the Open Road

Facilitator: Dr. Sarah Seo (Professor of Law, Columbia Law School)
Reading: Excerpts from Sarah Seo, Policing the Open Road: How Cars Transformed American Freedom

February 24 | Law and Mercy

Facilitator: Kevin Kambo (Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Hope College)
Reading: Excerpts from William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice and St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica

March 3 | Being Happy as a Lawyer

For our final session on March 3, we've assembled a panel of lawyers from different practice areas in both the public and private sectors:

• Zack Bluestone (Assistant U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of Missouri)

• Michelle Munoz Durk (Senior Counsel at U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, Division of Enforcement)

• Drew Frederick (Associate, Morgan Lewis, San Francisco)

• Grace Ristuccia (Shareholder, Ogletree Deakins, Washington/Chicago)

• Jordana Siracusa (Deputy Public Defender at Los Angeles County Public Defender)

Each lawyer will provide a brief overview of their career, and then we'll open the floor to questions. This final session will be a chance for the Fellows to explore different practice areas and ask practical career-related questions (e.g. Should I go straight to law school? What are the differences between being a prosecutor or a defense attorney?), but also to inquire about some of the larger themes we've explored this semester: is there a place for mercy in the legal system, can one pursue the common good while working in Big Law, can one be a lawyer and have a family, and so on.

Legal Humanities Fellows

Alex Worrall

Alex Worrall is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, prospectively majoring in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics and American History. He was raised Catholic in rural Pennsylvania and is excited to explore the intersectionality of religion and philosophy. He was introduced to Collegium through a preceptorial program his freshman year and has attended numerous events since then. He loves being able to hold intellectual and stimulating conversations in the casual and welcoming context that Collegium provides, and he hopes to help organize and plan events through being an undergraduate fellow to bring this same platform to the rest of the Penn community.

Cezanne Lojeski

Cezanne Lojeski is a junior studying Environmental Science and pursuing a minor in Philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania. Her academic interests lie in the intersection between environmental protection and law, and she plans to attend law school following graduation to pursue environmental and administrative law.

Isabelle Breier

Isabelle Breier (C’21) is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences originally from Connecticut. She is majoring in Medical Anthropology and Health and Societies, as well as minoring in English. Her interest in Collegium began when she was a Medical Humanities Fellow in spring 2019. She is excited to continue exploring Catholic social teaching, especially as it relates to medical ethics and the law, through thoughtful conversations. In her free time, she plays the flute and piccolo, reads books, and laments that she does not have more time in which to read books.

Matteo Akbarpour

Matteo is a freshman at the College of Arts and Sciences interested in studying Economics and Psychology. His goal is to become a civil rights or intellectual property attorney. In addition to being an editor for PULJ, Matteo is a member of the Penn Neuroscience Research Committee, an editor for the Wharton International Business Review, a research assistant for the Human Behavior and Origins Lab, and a Research Assistant for Wharton's Carol and Lawrence Zicklin Center for Business Ethics.

Trevor B. Williams

Trevor B. Williams (Ph.D. student, Villanova University) studies Augustinianism, sacramental theology, and the hermeneutics of culture. His other primary interests include biblical studies and Catholic social thought. Recent publications include articles in New Blackfriars, Perspectives in Religious Studies, and the Journal of the American Oriental Society.

Andrew Figueiredo

Andrew Figueiredo is a 2L at Penn Law. He was born and raised in Kansas and attended McGill University for undergrad. His interests are diverse, but he especially enjoys reading about politics, Catholic Social Teaching, and of course antitrust law.

Crystal Kang

Crystal is an undergraduate College junior studying Physics with a minor in Computational Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania. As a Legal Humanities Fellow, she anticipates enthralling conversations on how the mechanics of law contribute to the lived experiences of people who are supported and undermined by it. In the future, she hopes to engage in legal work at the intersection of technology and criminal (in)justice.

Kaden Stenger

Kaden Stenger is a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences majoring in Economics with an integrated minor in Legal Studies & History. He is from the great mountain state of West Virginia and is the proudest Mountaineer you will ever meet. Through various roles on Penn's campus, including president of the Interfraternity Council, member of Penn's model United Nations team, and as a student athlete on Penn's Sprint Football team, Kaden dedicates himself to a spirit of servant leadership. This passion comes out most when working with and for other students. Academically, he loves learning about economic structures around the world and discussing the role of religion in America. Collegium's Philosophy of Finance and Legal Humanities fellowships are where Kaden dives into these deep questions on thought, morality, and why things are the way they are.

Pascal Rathle

Pascal Rathle is a Dual Degree Candidate, M.S in Social Policy (MSSP) and Master in Law (ML) at the University of Pennsylvania. He is Penn's graduate student liaison to the Board of Trustees. Pascal is the Founding Curator for the Jacksonville Hub of the Global Shapers Community, an initiative of the World Economic Forum. He's a Salzburg Global Fellow, Climate Reality Leader (Co-Founder of the NE FL climate chapter), Bridges to Wealth Mentor and City Year AmeriCorp alumnus. He's professionally worked in the USA, UK, and UAE. He holds a BA from Jacksonville University and is a former NCAA Division I athlete and German Bundesliga trialist.

He's been a scholarship recipient too: The European Forum Alpbach (Austria), Young Leaders Program: Global Baku Forum (Azerbaijan), The Fund for American Studies (USA), Global Peace Chain (Ukraine), Young Ambassadors Forum (Romania), and Caravan for Democracy (Israel). Pascal speaks fluent French and strives to unleash human potential.

Angie Wang

Anjie Wang is a freshman from Auckland, New Zealand. She plans on majoring in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is introduced to the Collegium through the Legal Humanities program and she appreciates the opportunity to have philosophical discussion on legal ethics and history. Apart from Collegium, Anjie is a member of Student Committee on Undergraduate Education and the Community Outreach and Engagement branch of International Affairs Association.

Eitan Goodman

Eitan Goodman is a Sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences from Morristown, New Jersey who is majoring in neuroscience and minoring in philosophy. He is inexplicably drawn to the exploration of thought and self and strives to delve into the roots of a myriad of subjects, whether its ethics, global relations, or human rights. He seeks to explore the world on a different plane and has found that life has a lot to offer if you ask the right questions. He feels that the Legal Fellowship has provided him a unique viewpoint on these issues and has added greater depth and diversity to his studies.

Louis Galarowicz

Louis Galarowicz is a junior from North Caldwell, New Jersey studying history and philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences. Louis joined the Collegium Institute after finding its discussions and materials transformative in a way that many academic classes were not. He enjoys studying the Catholic and humanist traditions, with an eye towards education. Louis is currently researching for a senior thesis on the pedagogy of elite higher education. Grounded by faith and humility, Louis is passionate about improving the wellbeing of students in the Penn community, serving as president of the Interfraternal Council and as a member of student outreach groups focused on mental health and masculinity. Louis is interested in how religious values influence support for public policy and how policy relates to global inequality. Louis spends his free time learning through conversation and going on adventures outdoors.

Tim Nguyen

Tim Nguyen teaches and directs Business & Enterprise studies at Middlebury College. He is also a Lecturer at Johns Hopkins University. He is finishing his Master of Law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

Not pictured:

Avery Maudlin

Elizabeth Greene

Giovanna Varlotta

Philippe Becker

Santiago Velazquez

Yingtong Guo