Swiss Law and Humanities Hub (SLHH)
About
The Swiss Law and Humanities Hub (SLHH) is a new initiative co-developed by the Art-Law Centre at the University of Geneva and the Institute for Interdisciplinary Legal Studies at the University of Lucerne.
The guiding aim of the SLHH is to enable better connection and exchange of ideas between Swiss-based scholars with shared critical and theoretical interests around the intersections of law and the humanities, broadly defined.
At the heart of the project is an ethos of collegiality and community. More than a mere ‘network’ of individual undertakings, we envisage the hub as a kind of ‘collaboratory’ – a space for sharing thoughts and knowledge, for building intellectual capacity, for exploring new ways of working together, and for testing new ideas and approaches.
Our hope is that the hub establishes itself as a longstanding initiative with evolving purposes and reasons. For its launch phase, we have loosely identified the following four main priorities:
- to develop channels for sharing community news, advertising events, circulating calls and soliciting collaborations;
- to facilitate a range of activities including conferences, workshops, discussion groups, work-in-progress sessions and other innovative participation formats;
- to nurture connections with similar-minded groups worldwide and to link Swiss-based researchers with a global community of scholars working in this space;
- to embrace Switzerland’s humanist heritage, and its linguistic and cultural diversity, as a source of richness and discovery, and to promote new lines of law and humanities work that reflect and critically engage with local identities and Swiss legal-cultural traditions.
The SLHH is an informal academic community, not an association or society. There are no fees and joining is commitment-free.
Expressions of Interest
The SLHH is open to all with interests and specialisms across diverse fields including (but by no means limited to) law, literature, art, film studies, cultural studies, media studies, history, philosophy, politics, ethics and critical theory. We hope it will be a home for scholars, students, artists and practitioners interested in new critical and creative encounters outside orthodox disciplinary spaces.
If you wish to join the hub or would like any additional information, please contact lucernaiuris@unilu.ch.
Announcements
Kick-Off Event
On Tuesday 31 March, the SLHH kicked off its activities with an online Research Showcase. The event brought together ten participants - from six different universities in Switzerland - who briefly introduced themselves and their current projects. The list of presenters and titles is available here.
Love, Hate, and the Fate of International Organizations
On 6 and 7 May, the Pierre du Bois Annual Conference 2026 on Love, Hate, and the Fate of International Organizations: The Psychological Life of Global Governance (1900–Present) will take place at the Maison de la Paix in Geneva. Hub participant Daniel Quiroga-Villamarín, SNSF Postdoc at the University of Vienna, will be presenting on the cartoons of early international organizations by Alois Derso & Emery Kelen. Further details here.
laboratorium lucernaiuris
The Institute for Interdisciplinary Legal Studies in Lucerne is organizing three public events this semester as part of its laboratorium lucernaiuris series. On 20 April, Lidia Celli (Visiting Fellow, University of Lucerne) will present on Women and the Judiciary: From European Historiography to the Swiss Case. Next up, on 6 July, is Illan Wall (University of Galway) speaking about Bodies in Space: Atmospheres. On 8 July, there will be a screening of the film Fauna (Pau Faus, 2023), with a talk by Mónica López Lerma (Reed College) on Trans-Corporeal Encounters in Post-Pandemic Times. Further details here.
New Publication: Practices of Restitution
Laura Petersen's Practices of Restitution: Law and Aesthetics in Modern Germany has been published with CUP. Departing from common understandings, the book presents a novel approach to restitution (Wiedergutmachung) as a dynamic, iterative and ongoing practice of ‘making-good-again’. Via interdisciplinary readings in jurisprudence and aesthetics, Petersen reframes the question of how to conduct restitution as a material question of responsibility asked through the making of texts and objects in different genres, including law. The book is available open access.
Web Conferences: Les jeunes chercheur-se-s en Droit & Littérature
The spring programme of the working group “Les jeunes chercheur-se-s en Droit & Littérature”, coordinated by Camille Loutsch (University of Neuchatel), is available here. This includes two upcoming web conferences on Droit et littérature : un grand potentiel interdisciplinaire (20 April, 17.15h) and L’enseignement et la recherche en Droit & Littérature : regards croisés entre deux pères de ce mouvement en Europe et en Suisse (12 May, 17.15h). The website also hosts recordings of previous sessions in the series.
SLHH Events
02.06.26: Film Screening & Discussion
Screening of the film Elephants and Squirrels (Gregor Brändli, 2025), with a discussion featuring Bernhard Schär. The event will take place at Kino Rex in Bern. Further details to follow shortly.
31.03.26: Research Showcase
Online research showcase, featuring presentations by: Filippo Contarini (University of Lausanne), Amélie Gervasoni (University of Zurich), Dario Haux (University of Zurich), Steven Howe (University of Lucerne), Camille Loutsch (University of Neuchatel), Antoinette Maget Dominicé (University of Geneva), Laura Petersen (University of Lucerne), Daniel Quiroga Villamarin (SNSF Postdoc, University of Vienna), Vanessa Rampton (University of St. Gallen) and Leire Urricelqui (University of St. Gallen).
Participants
List of participants with research interests and contact details
- Filippo Contarini, University of Lausanne
- Aurélia Gervasoni, University of Zurich
- Dario Haux, University of Zurich
- Steven Howe, University of Lucerne
- Camille Loutsch, University of Neuchâtel
- Antoinette Maget Dominicé, University of Geneva
- Laura Petersen, University of Lucerne
- Vanessa Rampton, University of St. Gallen
- Daniel Ricardo Quiroga Villamarin, University of Vienna
- Leire Urricelqui, University of St. Gallen
Coordination
The SLHH is currently convened by:
- Steven Howe (Senior Research Fellow and Associate Director of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Legal Studies, University of Lucerne)
- Antoinette Maget Dominicé (Professor of Commercial Law and Director of the Art-Law Centre, University of Geneva)
- Laura Petersen (Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Institute for Interdisciplinary Legal Studies, University of Lucerne)
Please direct all general enquiries to lucernaiuris@unilu.ch.
