Evolving Doctrine Lecture Series: Ekow N. Yankah

Ekow N. Yankah is the Associate Dean for Faculty and Research, the Thomas M. Cooley Professor of Law at the University of Michigan. His scholarship focuses on political and criminal theory, with particular attention to political obligation and the justifications of punishment. His work has appeared in leading law reviews, peer-reviewed legal theory journals, books, and medical journals, including NOMOS, Ratio Juris, Law and Philosophy, Criminal Law and Philosophy, Stanford Law Review, Texas Law Review, and the Harvard Law & Policy Review, among others.

Talk Details:

Join Law Student Affairs as Professor Yankah discusses Taking Victims Seriously: Abolitionism, Criminal Law Minimalism, Equality and Punishment. The academic and cultural shift in discussing mass incarceration has been so profound that the “abolitionist critique,” arguing for the large scale or even total abolishment of prisons in America, has gone from an ideal of radical, Black critique to widespread academic and popular conversation. In its strongest form, abolitionism seems skeptical of any punishment as a response to social ills and individual wrongdoing. The powerful arguments by abolitionists invite us to clarify what justifies particular forms (and perhaps amounts) of punishment. Can criminal law reformers recognize the power of the abolitionist critique on the racial and class injustices of our carceral system and still advocate for intrinsic (not just consequentialist) reasons to punish?

Professor Yankah will argue that while we have many reasons to reform American mass incarceration, these reasons do not carry us all the way to abolitionism. Rather, criminal punishment has an important role in our political lives, expressing a collective response to certain kinds of public wrongdoings that undermine our ability to live as civic equals. Despite how far we are from it, we cannot forget that punishment can play an important role in securing equality. In a mantra, serious punishment, including incarceration, is one of the ways we make clear to victims that we take their being wronged seriously.

Event Details

This event is open to School of Law Students, Faculty and Staff.  Lunch Provided with RSVP.

The Evolving Doctrine Lecture Series

Established in 2023 to give modern perspectives on doctrinal lectures. This series aims to provide social and historical context to 1L doctrinal courses and give students a better understanding of past and present impacts of doctrinal law on society, with a focus on marginalized groups. We hope this series will supplement our doctrinal courses by connecting 1L studies to current affairs and socio-legal challenges.

The Evolving Doctrine Lecture Series is generously supported by the Jane Ellen Bergman and Nathaniel L. Nathanson endowments. The Bergman endowment presents opportunities for USD students, faculty, and staff to hear distinguished lecturers speak about issues concerning women, children, and human rights. The Nathanson endowment brings distinguished speakers in the field of constitutional or administrative law or civil liberties and human rights to the University of San Diego to discuss issues of national significance.