The Fordham School of Law has opened its doors to the public this fall for a series of lectures about the intersections of law and neuroscience.
The series, which is part of a seminar for Fordham Law students looking to explore topics beyond first-year courses, will feature leading neuroscientists, psychologists, medical researchers, and lawyers.
The lectures kicked off on Sept. 3 and will run every Tuesday through Nov. 26, wrapping up with “My Neurons Made Me Do It!” by Hon. Jed S. Rakoff, Judge, United States District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York.
Other class lectures include:
• “Neuroscience of Addiction,” by Fordham Professor of Chemistry Joan Roberts, Ph.D.,
on Oct. 8.
• “The Neuroscience of PTSD,” by Rachel Yehuda, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and neuroscience and director of the Traumatic Stress Studies Division of Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, on Oct. 29.
• “Will there be a Neuroscience Revolution?” by Adam Kolber, professor of law at Brooklyn Law school, on Nov. 12.
Deborah W. Denno, Ph.D., the Arthur A. McGivney Professor of Law, started the seminar and lecture series, now in its third cycle, to prepare law students for fields of science that are “going to be very much a part of their working lives, no matter what area of law they go into.”
The seminar examines a variety of cutting-edge, at times controversial, linkages—from social and environmental influences on the brain, to the interpretations of neuroimaging, to the prediction of criminality and predispositions toward mental illnesses and addictions.
“It’s important for students to get out of the box of law, branch into other disciplines, and to become comfortable and accustomed to talking to nonlawyers and experts in other fields—particularly technical fields such as neuroscience, biology, physiology, and more before they graduate,” said Denno. “They’ll be working with [such]experts when they are lawyers.”
Denno said she opened up the classes to the public because the lineup of stellar speakers will draw high interest beyond just a student audience; the series has already attracted members of the medical profession and lifelong learners from the community.
“Fordham is a place for the interchange of ideas,” she said. “It’s part of our mission.”
A full schedule of the series can be found at http://law.fordham.edu/faculty/22818.htm
Although the Fordham community and the public are invited to attend, reservations are required.
For more information, contact Denno at 212-636-6868 or by email at ddenno@law.fordham.edu.
