The world is at the crossroads, but we know it all too well. Media are filled with disturbing news. The word ‘crisis’ is used so often that it doesn’t produce much more than the feeling of exhaustion. Such social reality has reshaped academia, which often feels captive of day-to-day political struggles. Not anyhow diminishing the importance of political engagement, we should not be oblivious to long-term effects of political trivialisation that the society of spectacle produces. In particular, theoretical thought often turns into just ornaments of foregone conclusions. Critical legal thinking has become a field of great diversity of perspectives and methods, but to which extent can – and should – it still have a powerful theoretical core? Is there a real place for theory, or has it turned into just one of many narrative strategies? Is theory in itself obsolete? Can it be resuscitated? Is it helplessly modernist to expect theory to explain reality more deeply and only subsequently aspire to change it? It is in this setting that we would like to re-address the question of theory. ‘Theory!’ is meant to be a call and a reminder that in the flattened symbolic universe something still may stand out. What we would like to think about is not only the position of theory in CLT, but also the questions of methodology and perspective. What new theoretical spurs can we have today? Can a theory become something more solid than a whim of the day?

The famous response of the failure of the Second Internationale was Lenin’s studying of Hegel’s Logic: gesture as theoretical as it can only be. As Lenin found, Marxism of the Second Internationale was built upon fundamental misunderstandings of the dialectic. Can theory have such critical power nowadays? Or, on the contrary, does it paralyse action and multiply doubts? How can theory defend itself against the new concreteness of empirical research? If Ancient Greek theorein meant to watch and contemplate, how can it balance between distanced grasp of reality and its engagement? Let us explore together new theoretical paths and ask about the position of theory in critical legal thought.

THEMES AND TOPICS

We invite proposals for papers that address themes and topics such as (but are not limited to):

Epistemics of theory

• What is the epistemic status of theory nowadays?
• What is the relation between academic distance in theory and its political engagement?
• Ends of theory

Theory in critical legal thought

• What makes a certain theory belong to critical legal theory?

• What is the role of theory in critical thinking?

Beyond postmodernity

• Are there still vivid and productive theoretical paradigms?
• Is poststructuralism a doxa of today, or a paradigm to overcome?
• What is the status of Marxist thinking in CLT?

Uses and misuses of theory

• How is theory (mis)used in CLT?
• What is the relation of theory and empirics in CLT?
• How does illiberalism abuse critical legal theory?

Positions of theory within academia

• Lawyers as public intellectuals
• Organic intellectuals in contemporary academia
• Who is allowed to theorise? Whose theory is heard? Class/geopolitical/gender strata of theorisation
• Reproduction of theory in academia from an institutional point of view

FORMAT:

The conference will take place at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków.

Additionally, for those who cannot come to Kraków in person, we envisage the possibility of joining us online.

CONFERENCE FEE:

none

SUBMISSIONS:

Abstracts no longer than 300 words should be sent together with the applicant’s short bio note and affiliation to the email address: nomos@uj.edu.pl before 31 March 2026.

Selected participants will be notified about their acceptation until 15 April 2026.

CONTACT:

Should you have any questions, please write to: nomos@uj.edu.pl