WT Distinguished Lecture Series Continues with Look into Basis of Legal Traditions

Copy by Chip Chandler, 806-651-2124, cchandler@wtamu.edu

CANYON, Texas — The connections between Roman law and the U.S. Constitution, among other topics, will be in the spotlight in the next installment of West Texas A&M University’s Distinguished Lecture Series.

Dr. Lukasz Korporwicz, associate professor in the Department of Roman Law and vice dean for research at the University of Lodz in Poland, will offer “Sophisticated Legal Tradition? On the Relation Between Common, Canon and Civil Law Once Again.”

Korporwicz will speak at 7 p.m. April 3 in the Thunder Room in the Jack B. Kelley Student Center on WT’s Canyon campus.

Korporwicz has published more than 60 scientific works, primarily investigating Roman law in England and English legal history. He also founded and now directs at his university an international center for the Study of English and American Law. It concerns the history, theory and practice of Anglo-American law and how it relates to other legal systems, for example European law.

A member of the Royal Historical Society, the Selden Society, and the American Society for Legal History, Korporowicz is an internationally recognized expert on Roman, Canon, and Common Law.

Roman law is the basis of the law in much of the world, though English and American laws, for example, can be considerably different. But even so, Roman law inspired, among other things, the U.S. Constitution’s ban on double jeopardy and insistence on the right to due process.

“It’s all part of one great story about how we get to the legal system we have,” said Dr. Bruce Brasington, WT’s Twanna Caddell Powell Professor of History. “This lecture will appeal to anyone interested in how the law is supposed to work.”

Korporowicz also will speak to students in Brasington’s course in Roman history, to those in Dr. Elizabeth Morrow Clark’s course in the history of Poland and to WT pre-law students in a special lunchtime discussion.

The spring DLS events will conclude with a discussion featuring screenwriter and journalist Christian Wallace, whose podcast series “Boomtown” inspired Sheridan’s hit series “Landman.”

“From Boomtown to Landman: Storytelling in the West Texas Oil Patch” will begin at 7 p.m. April 10 in Legacy Hall in the JBK Student Center in a co-presentation with the Center for the Study of the American West’s Garry L. Nall endowed lecture series.

The series was created to honor Dr. Nall’s exceptional service to WT and his scholastic accomplishments. The lecture series supports CSAW’s mission to promote the study of the American West. Each semester, CSAW invites a noted scholar to participate in a community lecture, classroom lecture, a question & answer discussion session, and small group outings with WT students.

Addressing regional challenges and making an impact throughout the region and beyond are key components of the University’s long-range plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World.

That plan is fueled by the historic One West comprehensive fundraising campaign, which reached its initial $125 million goal 18 months after publicly launching in September 2021. The campaign’s new goal is to reach $175 million by 2025; currently, it has raised more than $160 million.

About West Texas A&M University

WT, a Regional Research University, is redefining excellence in Canyon, Texas, on a 342-acre residential campus, as well as the Harrington Academic Hall WTAMU Amarillo Center in downtown Amarillo. Established in 1910, the University has been part of The Texas A&M University System since 1990. WT, a Hispanic Serving Institution since 2016, boasts an enrollment of more than 9,000 and offers 66 undergraduate degree programs, including eight associate degrees; and 44 graduate degrees, including an integrated bachelor’s and master’s degree, a specialist degree and two doctoral degrees. The University is also home to the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum, the largest history museum in the state and the home of one of the Southwest’s finest art collections. The Buffaloes are a member of the NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference and offers 14 men’s and women’s athletics programs.

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