New York City
Summer 2008

In order to better serve an important segment of the HLS community – students concentrating on careers in the public interest – the Program on the Legal Profession has partnered with the Office of Public Interest Advising (OPIA) to sponsor a unique opportunity for HLS students working in public interest summer internships in New York City. The Summer Theory Institute is a weekly workshop that creates an opportunity for students to discuss larger theoretical concepts on public interest work outside of the work environment. The goal of this program is to enhance the fellows’ sense of the potential for intellectual rigor and personal fulfillment in public interest work. The workshop was conceived by two recent HLS graduates (class of 2006): Nisha Agarwal, a Skadden Fellow at the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, and Jocelyn Simonson, a public defender at the Bronx Defenders, Inc., who will jointly facilitate the workshop on-site in New York City.

The Summer Institute involves a serious commitment on the part of the 12 student fellows selected to participate. They will meet on a weekly basis for 10 weeks to discuss works of social and critical theory and relate them to their public interest internships. Each week the fellows will read short articles or excerpts from longer writings, each of which relates to the types of issues that the fellows will encounter in their summer public interest jobs. They are required to attend all ten evening sessions, prepare for each group meeting ahead of time, participate in the discussions, and lead one discussion session.

The Summer Institute is open to 1-L and 2-L students, and no prior experience with social or critical theory is necessary to participate.  Interested students should submit a statement of interest by e-mail to both workshop facilitators: Jocelyn Simonson and Nisha Agarwal.  Statements of interest should include: (1) details on the applicant’s anticipated or desired internship plans for the summer; and (2) an explanation of their interest in the Summer Theory Institute. 

Although there is no formal deadline, space is limited, and priority will be given to applications received by April 4, 2008.  Additional details are available at: http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/opia/docs/HLS_SummerTheoryInstitute.pdf.