Professor Shanthi Senthe is co-organizing an international conference in Sri Lanka, in partnership with Stanford University and the University of Wisconsin Law School, to examine pressing social and legal issues affecting South Asia. (SUBMITTED BY SHANTHI SENTHE/University of Windsor)
By Sara Meikle
Reinforcing its position as a global leader in legal scholarship, the University of Windsor is co-convening an international conversation on South Asia's most pressing legal issues.
A major international conference co-organized by the Faculty of Law’s Dr. Shanthi Senthe, in collaboration with the Center for South Asia at Stanford University and the Global Legal Studies Center at the University of Wisconsin Law School, will bring together scholars, legal practitioners, judges, journalists and researchers from around the world to examine these challenges.
Taking place on July 28 and 29 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Law & Society in South Asia: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from the Ground is attracting global attention.
With more than 260 expressions of interest from participants representing institutions including Stanford University, the University of Wisconsin, Yale University, Harvard University, Columbia University and universities across South Asia and East Asia, the conference committee selected 103 submissions to be featured in the program.
For Senthe, the conference represents more than an academic gathering. It is the culmination of years of international relationship-building and a reflection of Windsor Law's influence on the global stage.
The partnership grew out of years of Senthe’s research and scholarly collaborations with colleagues at Stanford and Wisconsin.
"These collaborations don't happen overnight — they are built through years of scholarship, research partnerships and international engagement," said Senthe.
While the conference is grounded in legal scholarship, its scope extends far beyond traditional legal disciplines.
Participants will explore issues including environmental justice, gender equality, post-conflict reconstruction, governance, economic development and human rights. The result is a conference that embraces the intersection of law with social, political, cultural and economic realities.
"Law doesn't exist in isolation," said Senthe. "The goal is to create space for interdisciplinary conversations that examine how legal systems interact with the communities and societies they serve, especially in the Global South."
That broad approach has generated significant interest from researchers working across disciplines. Abstract submissions have arrived from countries including Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Canada and the United States. Potential participants include academics, legal professionals, judges, investigative researchers and journalists whose work examines legal and social issues throughout the Global South.
Senthe hopes the event will create opportunities for local researchers and legal scholars — particularly those working in Sri Lanka — to share their expertise with an international audience.
"We want to create a platform that elevates scholarship coming directly from the region," she said. "Some of the most important perspectives on South Asian legal and social issues come from scholars who are living, researching and working there."
The conference also highlights Windsor Law's longstanding commitment to interdisciplinary research and international engagement. As legal issues become increasingly global in nature, collaborations that cross borders and disciplines are becoming essential to understanding complex societal challenges.
It also demonstrates how faculty research can build meaningful connections between institutions, countries and communities while creating opportunities for knowledge exchange on a global scale.
"This is the kind of work universities should be doing," Senthe said. "Bringing together people with different perspectives, different expertise and different experiences to learn from one another and tackle important questions that affect societies around the world."
Senthe credits the conference's success to a network of community support, acknowledging the Rodzik family, Windsor Law dean Reem Bahdi, colleagues and collaborators whose mentorship, generosity and steadfast belief in the vision helped make the conference possible.
As organizers review submissions and finalize the program, the strong international response already signals the growing importance of interdisciplinary approaches to understanding law and society — and Windsor Law's role in helping lead those conversations.