Beyond Marriage: Philosophy, Politics, Law

I am the convenor of this international and interdisciplinary conference held in Cambridge in May 2019.

There have been significant changes to the institution of marriage in recent years, with many countries introducing same-sex marriage, civil partnerships, and other forms of non-traditional union. For some, marriage is a central institution that must be protected, for others it is inevitably unjust and should be abolished.

This conference will bring together academics and practitioners from philosophy, politics, and law to debate what lies beyond marriage. The programme includes:

Dr Rebecca Steinfeld, claimant in Steinfeld and Keidan v. Secretary of State, “The Equal Civil Partnerships Campaign”

Tim Loughton MP, “Equal Civil Partnerships in the House of Commons”

Andrew Harrop, General Secretary, Fabian Society, “Marriage and the Left”

Jo Miles, Law, University of Cambridge, “Against Civil Partnership”

Prof Robert Wintemute, Law, King’s College London, “Equal Choices for All Couples:  From Same-Sex Civil Partnership to Equal Marriage to Steinfeld & Keidan”.

Prof Lori Watson, Philosophy, San Diego University, “Polygamy and Equality”

Dr Samia Bano, Law, SOAS, “Muslim Marriage in the UK”

Dr Clare Chambers, Philosophy, University of Cambridge, “The Marriage-Free State”

Prof Elizabeth Brake, Philosophy, Arizona State University, “Minimal Marriage”

Chairs: 
Dr Jude Browne, Centre for Gender Studies, University of Cambridge
Prof Ralph Wedgwood, Philosophy, University of Southern California
Dr Findlay Stark, Law, University of Cambridge
Dr Tom Dougherty, Philosophy, University of Cambridge

You can read more about the conference here.