450 Walter Mondale Hall
229 19th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455
(612) 624-2947
cnr@umn.edu
EMPLOYMENT
University of Minnesota
Associate Professor, Law School (2011 – Present)
Vance Opperman Research Scholar (2016-2017)
Institute for Advanced Study Fellow (Fall 2016)
Affiliated Faculty, Department of Sociology (May 2012 – Present)
EDUCATION
Ph.D., 2010
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Joint Doctoral Program in Sociology & Public Policy
(Recipient of the Univ. of Michigan Distinguished Dissertation Award)
J.D., 2000
University of Southern California Law School
B.A., Anthropology, 1997
University of California, Los Angeles
PUBLICATIONS & ARTICLES IN PROGRESS
2017 “Human Rights Lost: The (Re)making of an American Story,” Forthcoming in the Minnesota Journal of International Law, Vol. 26.
2016 “Grasping at Origins: Shifting the Conversation in the Historical Study of Human Rights,” Forthcoming in the Chicago Journal of International Law, Vol. 17.2.
2016 “Human Rights & Sociological Duties,” Forthcoming in Sociological Forum, Volume 32.
2015 The Contentious History of the International Bill of Human Rights. Cambridge University Press.
Recipient of the American Sociological Association’s 2015 Gordon Hirabayashi Human Rights Section Book Award.
2015 “Standing Our Legal Ground: Reclaiming The Duties Within Second Amendment Rights Cases,” Arizona State Law Journal, Vol. 47, 235-68.
2015 “The Status of Law in World Society,” invited book review, in Perspectives on Politics.
2013 “Convergence, Reaction, and Translation: Human Rights in History,” Harvard International Law Journal Symposium, Vol. 54(1) [text available at opiniojuris.org].
2013 “The Sociology of Law,” in The Handbook of Sociology and Human Rights, edited by David L. Brunsma, Keri E. Iyall Smith, and Brian K. Gran. Paradigm Publishers.
Reprinted in Institutions Unbound: Social Worlds and Human Rights (2016), Edited by David L. Brunsma, Keri E. Iyall Smith, Brian K. Gran. Routledge.
2012 “The Dynamics of Health Care Reform: Bitter Pills Old and New,” 45 Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 1341 (Nov. 2012).
2008 “Toward a New Sociology of Rights: A Genealogy of ‘Buried Bodies’ of Citizenship and Human Rights.” Annual Review of Law and Social Science 4:385–425 (with Margaret R. Somers).
Reprinted in Human Rights in the World Community: Issues and Action (2016), Edited by Burns H. Weston & Anna Grear. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Draft Lost Duties: The Historical Origins of an Absence (Book Project, in progress).
Draft “Human Rights Predecessors in Colonial Law,” In preparation.
Draft “The Fight to Name the ‘We’ in ‘We the People,’” In preparation.
Draft “The United States, Socioeconomic Rights, and Human Rights Formation,” In preparation.
PANELS, LECTURES & INVITED PRESENTATIONS
2016 “Lost Duties: The Historical Origins of an Absence,” Univ. of Minnesota, Institute for Advanced Studies Fellows Seminar (10/2016).
2016 “Rights without Duties?: The Historical Origins of an Absence,” Invited Panelist, Univ. of Michigan Human Rights Workshop (10/2016).
2016 “International Human Rights Treaties: Drafting and Creation,” Invited Speaker, Univ. of Minnesota Law School, Human Rights Course (9/2016).
2016 "The United States and Human Rights: The Historical Roots of a Contemporary Absence," Paper presentation, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA (8/2016).
2016 “Lost Duties: Searching for the Other Half of Our Rights,” Univ. of Minnesota, Faculty Squaretable (8/2016).
2016 “Bitter Enemies & Foundational Ideas: The Development of the Modern Human Rights Concept,” Invited Talk, Fritz Thyssen Institute, Cologne, Germany (6/2016).
2016 “Human Rights, Origins, and Historical Studies,” Invited Talk, Max Planck Institute, Göttingen, Germany (6/2016).
2016 “The Contentious History of the International Bill of Human Rights,” Subject of Author Meets Reader Panel Session, Law & Society Association Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (5/2016).
2016 “Grasping at Origins: Shifting the Conversation in the Historical Study of Human Rights,” Paper presentation, Law & Society Association Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (5/2016).
2016 “The Other Half of Rights,” Univ. of Minnesota, Human Rights Workshop (4/2016).
2016 “Teaching Difficult and Sensitive Topics,” Invited Speaker, UMN Law School, Teaching Workshop (3/2016).
2015 “Human Rights Lost: The (Re)making of an American Story,” Faculty Works in Progress Workshop, Univ. of Minnesota Law School.
2015 “Human Rights Lost: The (Re)making of an American Story,” Legal History Workshop, Univ. of Minnesota Law School.
2015 “The Social History of International Law,” Invited Speaker, Humphrey Fellowship Program Seminar, Univ. of Minnesota Law School.
2015 “International Human Rights and their Opponents,” Invited Speaker, Univ. of Minnesota Law School, Human Rights Course.
2015 “The Contentious History of the International Bill of Human Rights,” Invited Speaker, Univ. of Minnesota Human Rights Faculty Salon.
2015 “Grasping at Origins: Shifting the Conversation in the Historical Study of Human Rights,” Squaretable Faculty Workshop, Univ. of Minnesota Law School.
2015 “Overcoming our Predetermined Past,” Panel Presentation, Revisiting Remaking Modernity Workshop, Northwestern University.
2015 “Rights and Human Rights Perspectives and Institutions,” Panel Presentation Discussant, Law & Society Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA.
2015 “Human Rights in History,” Paper presentation, Law & Society Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA.
2014 “Human Rights in History: Letting the Bad Men and Women Have Their Say,” Invited speaker, Freeman Center series on Global Policy, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, Univ. of Minn.
2014 “International Human Rights,” Invited Speaker, Univ. of Minnesota Law School, Human Rights Course.
2014 “History, Human Rights, and Global Institutions: Establishing an Analytic Framework for Empirical Study,” Paper presented at the American Society of International Law, Midwest Workshop.
2014 Invited Discussant, Author Meets Readers Roundtable, for Capitalism v. Democracy, by Timothy Kuhner, at the Law & Society Association Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN.
2014 “Human Rights Predecessors in Colonial Law: From Duties to Rights,” Paper presented at the Law & Society Association Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN.
2014 “The Influence of a Global Political Institution that Never Was: Establishing an Analytic Framework,” Panel Presentation, Regional Colloquium on Globalization of Law, International Organizations and International Law.
2013 “International Human Rights Opponents,” Invited Speaker, Univ. of Minnesota Law School, Human Rights Course.
2013 “Moral Principles, Rights, and Colonial Agreements,” Invited Speaker, Univ. of Minnesota Law School, Faculty Affiliates Luncheon.
2013 “Building Sovereign Walls,” Invited Panel Speaker, International Law Weekend, American Branch of the International Law Association, Whitney R. Harris World Law Institute at Washington University School of Law.
2013 "Human Rights and Social Struggle," Invited Speaker, Faculty Workshop, Univ. of Minnesota Dept. of Sociology.
2012 “Modern International Human Rights: Recovering a Concept / Uncovering a Buried History,” Invited Speaker, Faculty Workshop, Univ. of Illinois College of Law.
2012 “The Dynamics of Healthcare Reform,” Invited Speaker, Faculty Seminar, Univ. of Arizona Law School.
2012 “The History of Human Rights Formation (or How to Study a Concept that Does Not Yet Exist),” Invited Panelist, Conference on Rights and Their Translation, Univ. of Arizona Law School.
2012 “International Human Rights Lecture,” Invited Speaker, Univ. of Minnesota Law School, LLM Program.
2012 Subject of author-meets-critics roundtable, for “The Sociology of Law,” in The Handbook of Sociology and Human Rights, at the American Sociological Association Meeting, Denver, CO.
2012 Panel on “The Politics of Global Human Rights,” Session Discussant, Presider, and Organizer at the American Sociological Association Meeting, Denver, CO.
2012 “Socioeconomic Rights and Global Politics” Paper Presented at the American Sociological Association Meeting, Denver, CO.
2012 History on Repeat: Human Rights Creation and the Opposition to National Healthcare,” Paper presented at the Law & Society Association Annual Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii.
2012 Panel on “Thinking about Law & Norms,” Chair/Discussant at the Law & Society Association Annual Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii.
2012 Panel on “Genocide and Transitional Justice,” Chair/Discussant at the Law & Society Association Annual Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii.
2012 “Panel on Sanction, Criminal Law, and Gendered Accountability,” Session Chair at the Conference on Gendering Conflict and Post-Conflict Terrains, Univ. of Minnesota.
2012 Subject of video interview on Human Rights, Institute for Advanced Study, Univ. of Minnesota.
2011 “An Empirical Approach to Studying Rights: Reuniting Rights and Duties,” Paper presented at the Twin Cities Law & Society/Empirical Legal Studies Conference.
2011 “Saving Empire: The Attempt to Create (non)-Universal Human Rights,” Paper presented at the American Sociological Association Meeting, Las Vegas, NV.
2011 “Sociology of Law Paper Session. Legalization and the Global Economy,” Discussant- American Sociological Association Meeting, Las Vegas, NV.
2011 “International Human Rights Lecture,” Invited Speaker, Univ. of Minnesota Law School, LLM Program.
2011 “Faculty Workshop,” Invited Participant, Duke Univ. School of Law.
2010 “International Human Rights,” Invited Guest Speaker, Undergraduate Course – Introduction to Public Policy, Brown University, Providence, RI.
2010 “Healthcare Reform and Rights,” Invited Guest Speaker, Masters Course – Ethics & Public Policy, Brown University, Providence, RI.
2010 “Unequivocal Ambivalence: Opposition and the Hope of (non)Universal Human Rights,” Paper presented at the Center for the Study of Law & Society, Boalt Hall, Berkeley, CA.
2009 “Unequivocal Ambivalence: Opposition and the Hope of (non)Universal Human Rights,” Paper presented at the University of Michigan, Sociology Department Colloquium Series.
2009 “Exploring Fractures within Human Rights: An Empirical Study of Resistance,” Paper presented at the Center for the Study of Law & Society, Boalt Hall, Berkeley, CA.
2008 Lineages of Human Rights Opposition: Uncovering a Forgotten History.” Paper presented at the American Sociological Association Meeting, Boston, MA.
2008 First Annual Gramlich Showcase, School of Public Policy, University of Michigan, Invited poster presentation.
2007 Graduate Student Workshop, Dept. of Sociology, University of Michigan, Invited Discussant.
2007 “Exploring Fractures within Human Rights: A Study of Empirical Resistance,” Paper presented at the American Political Science Association, Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.
2007 “From Citizenship to Human Rights: A Theoretical Framework,” Paper presented at the American Sociological Association Meeting, New York, NY.
2007 “The Missing Sociology of Rights,” Paper presented at the Law and Society Summer Institute, Amherst, MA.
2006 “Rights and Foundationalism: Toward a Sociology of Rights.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Law and Society Association, Baltimore, MD.
2005 “Assembling Legitimacy: Perceptions and Realities of the United Nations during the Suez Crisis.” Paper presented at the Meeting of the Society for Comparative Research, Budapest, Hungary.
RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS, HONORS & AWARDS
2016 Institute for Advanced Study Faculty Fellowship (Fall 2016)
2016-17 Vance Opperman Research Scholar
2015 Recipient of the American Sociological Association’s 2015 Gordon Hirabayashi Human Rights Section Book Award
2015-16 Joseph & Edith Wargo Research Scholar, Law School
2014-15 The John K. and Elsie Lampert Fesler Fellowship in Law, Law School
2011 Univ. of Michigan ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award
2008-10 Visiting Scholar, Center for the Study of Law & Society, UC Berkeley School of Law, Boalt Hall
2002-08 Rackham Merit Fellowship for Underrepresented Groups, Univ. of Michigan
2008 Doctoral Research Grant, Nonprofit & Public Management Center, Univ. of Michigan
2007 Shapiro/Malik Award, Univ. of Michigan
2007 Invited Participant, Law and Society Summer Institute, Amherst, MA.
2007 Rackham Debt Management Award, Univ. of Michigan
2006 Department of Sociology Block Grant, Univ. of Michigan
2006 Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy Travel Grant, Univ. of Michigan
2005 Invited Participant, Society for Comparative Research, Budapest, Hungary
2005 Rackham Graduate School Research Grant, Univ. of Michigan
2005 Rackham International Travel Grant, Univ. of Michigan
2005 Department of Sociology Block Grant, Univ. of Michigan
2005 Gerald R. Ford School of Public PolicyConference Grant, Univ. of Michigan
2005-07 Office of the Vice President for Research- Research Grant (with
Professor Margaret Somers), Univ. of Michigan
2004 Department of Sociology Block Grant, Univ. of Michigan
2002-03 Department of Sociology, One-Year Fellowship, Univ. of Michigan
1997-00 Joseph M. Shaw Memorial Scholarship, Univ. of Southern California Law School
COURSES
Torts (4 units); Civil Rights: Citizenship & Human Rights (3 units); Administrative Law (3 Units)
AREAS OF RESEARCH, TEACHING INTERESTS & METHODS
Human Rights, International Law, Citizenship, Social Policy, Torts, Administrative Law, Social Theory, Legal History, Law & Society, Civil Rights, Qualitative Research Methods, Sociology of Concept Formation, Jurisprudence
SERVICE, COMMITTEES & RESPONSIBILITIES
2015-16 Human Rights Center, Search Committee, Law School
2015 Clerk of the Faculty, Law School
2015-17 Editorial Board, Law & Social Inquiry
2014-16 Editorial Board, Law & Society Review
2015-16 Parliamentarian, University & Faculty Senate, University of Minnesota
2014-17 Faculty Works in Progress Committee, Law School
2014-16 Law & Society Assoc. Local Organizing Committee
2012-16 Interdisciplinary and Joint Degree Committee, Law School
2012-13 Faculty Search Committee, Dept. of Sociology (Outside Member)
2011-12 Admissions Committee, Law School
2011-12 Clerk of the Faculty, Law School
PEER REVIEWER
Law & Social Inquiry; Law & Society Review; Routledge; Cambridge University Press; University of Pennsylvania Press; American Academy in Berlin; Perspectives on Politics; Center for Engaged Scholarship.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Society of International Law
American Sociological Association
American Political Science Association
Law & Society Association
Advisory Board, University of Minnesota Human Rights Center