25.2. | 15:00–16:30
Dr. Susanne K. Paas, Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory
"Josef Esser - A German Jurist in Four Systems"
The talk aims to achieve two different goals: exploring the life and works of Josef Esser and using him as a prism into his time, introducing historical methods of writing biographies into legal history. Josef Esser (1910-1999) is still regarded as a renowned legal theorist and doctrinal scholar, especially in Germany, Italy, and Brazil. His life provides insights into a legal career spanning four political systems: the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, National Socialism, and the early Federal Republic of Germany. He became particularly influential among left-leaning, sociologically oriented legal scholars in Germany and beyond — making it even more interesting to analyze the continuity of his views about reality and law from National Socialism to legal sociology after 1945.
Dr. Susanne K. Paas is a senior researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Legal History and Legal Theory in Frankfurt am Main (Germany). She studied History, German Literature, and Law in Germany (in Münster, Cologne, and Berlin) and the US (Yale Law School). Her research focuses on legal history and legal theory, primarily in intellectual history.
Location: Porthania, P722, University of Helsinki
Zoom link: https://helsinki.zoom.us/j/64501676743
Webinar ID: 645 0167 6743