Professor Maksymilian Del Mar, BA LLB (Qld), PhD (Edinburgh), DSS (Lausanne), Solicitor (Qld)Professor of Legal Theory and Legal HumanitiesEmail: m.delmar@qmul.ac.ukRoom Number: Mile EndProfileTeachingResearchPublicationsSupervisionPublic EngagementProfileMaksymilian Del Mar is Professor of Legal Theory and Legal Humanities in the Department of Law, Queen Mary University of London. He studied philosophy, literature, and law at the University of Queensland, Australia (BA Hons / LLB Hons), with an Honours dissertation on Italo Calvino. He completed a Doctorate in Philosophy (PhD) at the School of Law, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and a Doctorate in the Social Sciences (DSS) at the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Prior to academia, he qualified as a lawyer in Brisbane, Australia, and worked as a Judge’s Associate in the Supreme Court of Queensland. He arrived at Queen Mary in 2011. Professor Del Mar teaches and researches at the intersection of sociologically- and historically-oriented legal theory and the legal humanities. He has long-standing interests in the relations between social and legal theory, as well as in the importance of history and historiography for theorising law. He has a special interest in Scottish thought, from the moral philosophy of the eighteenth century to twentieth century jurisprudence. He has also worked extensively on common law reasoning, especially in connection to imagination, emotion, embodiment, and related forms of language (e.g., fictions, metaphors, personifications, hypotheticals), and retains a strong interest in the importance of the theory and history of rhetoric and narratology for legal reasoning and legal education. He is the author of Artefacts of Legal Inquiry: The Value of Imagination in Adjudication (2020). He has edited or co-edited: ‘Cognitive Legal Humanities’ (2023); ‘Contextual Legal Pedagogy’ (2022); The Oxford Handbook of Law and Humanities (2020); Virtue, Emotion, and Imagination in Law and Legal Reasoning (2020); Law in Theory and History (2016); Authority in Transnational Legal Theory (2016); Legal Fictions in Theory and Practice (2015); Beyond Text in Legal Education (2013); New Waves in Legal Philosophy (2011); and Law as Institutional Normative Order (2009). He has recently completed Neil MacCormick: A Life in Politics, Philosophy, and Law (forthcoming with Cambridge University Press in 2025). He edits the Law in Context series at Cambridge University Press; the Encounters series for the International Journal of Law in Context; and Cambridge Elements in Legal Humanities. He serves on the Editorial Boards of Public Humanities and Law & Literature . At Queen Mary, he convenes the Cotterrell Lectures in Sociological Jurisprudence and the interdisciplinary research network on ‘Imagination’ at the Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences.Undergraduate Teaching Jurisprudence and Legal Theory Legal Reasoning in a Global Context Law, Knowledge, Power: Past and Present Postgraduate Teaching SOLM179 Common Law Reasoning ResearchCurrent Research: Professor Del Mar’s current research focuses on the long history of the arts of discourse (rhetoric, logic, grammar) and practices and pedagogies of imagination. One particular interest involves exploring the legacy of Ancient Greek and Roman imagination on Enlightenment jurisprudence, with a focus on Hume and Smith and their readings of the classics. Enlightenment jurisprudence is here approached as part of a culture of humanist pedagogy in virtue, with a particular focus on the education of virtuous seers. Also in progress is research on the rhetorical and literary practice of character-making and its connections to knowing and reasoning with law. Here, the interest is in tracing the legacy of Ancient Greek play with character (in rhetoric, philosophy, drama), as mediated by Roman and later receptions, including in English early modern character-writing. This is part of a broader interest in the histories of invention, ingenuity, prudence, and judgement, including varieties of animating knowledge, dialogical practices and pedagogies of conversation, and other forms and modes of serious play. The intention is to understand the relations between poetic, dramatic, juristic, and other forms of making. This research also extends to considering how this long history of humanities education is important for contemporary legal education. Past research Particular threads of past research include: The role and value of imagination in twentieth century common law reasoning. Artefacts of Legal Inquiry: The Value of Imagination in Adjudication (484pp, Hart, 2020) draws on a range of theoretical traditions, including rhetoric, the cognitive humanities, literary theory, and the philosophy of mind, to argue for why imagination and related forms of language matter to common law reasoning. The life and work of Neil MacCormick, alongside a broader interest in the historiography of philosophy and politics. This long-standing project, which includes a website, containing a timeline, full bibliography, and audio and video resources, has resulted in a monograph entitled Neil MacCormick: A Life in Politics, Philosophy, and Law (forthcoming with Cambridge University Press in 2025). Normativity and social theory: with a specific interest in second-personal, dialogical, and interactionist accounts of normativity and social life. The role and value of the arts in legal education, e.g., in the Beyond Text in Legal Education project.Global and transnational legal theory: with a special interest in legal reasoning in a global context, transnational authority, and the theory and history of international law. PublicationsView Professor Maks Del Mar's full CV [PDF 450KB] Select publications ‘Kinesic Intelligence in Common Law Reasoning’, in G. Bolens (ed.), Kinesic Intelligence in the Humanities, Routledge, 2024, 111-132 ‘Animating the Past: History-Making, Memory-Making, Law-Making’ (2023) 16(3) Cracow Studies of Constitutional and Legal History 297-316 ‘Cognitive Legal Humanities’, co-edited with Simon Stern (2023) 10(1) CAL: Critical Analysis of Law 1-115 ‘Enthymising‘ (2023) 43(1) Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 202-220 ‘The Confluence of Rhetoric and Emotion: How the History of Rhetoric Illuminates the Theoretical Importance of Emotion’ (2022) Law & Literature 1-29 ‘Contextual Legal Pedagogy’, co-edited with Kenneth Armstrong and Sally Sheldon, (2022) International Journal of Law in Context 365-460 Artefacts of Legal Inquiry: The Value of Imagination in Adjudication (Hart / Bloomsbury, 2020) Virtue, Emotion and Imagination in Legal Reasoning, co-edited with Amalia Amaya, Hart Publishing, 2020 ‘Philosophical Analysis and Historical Inquiry: Theorising Normativity, Law and Legal Thought‘, in Markus Dubber and Christopher Tomlins (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Legal Historical Research, Oxford University Press, 2018, 3-22 ‘Metaphor in International Law: Language, Imagination and Normative Inquiry‘ (2017) 86(2) Nordic Journal of International Law 170-195 ‘Imagining by Feeling: A Case for Compassion in Legal Reasoning‘ (2017) 13(2) International Journal of Law in Context 143-157 ‘Legal Reasoning in Pluralist Jurisprudence: The Practice of the Relational Imagination‘, in Andrew Halpin and Nicole Roughan (eds.), In Pursuit of Pluralist Jurisprudence, Cambridge University Press, 40-63, 2017 Law in Theory and History: New Essays on a Neglected Dialogue, co-edited with Michael Lobban, Hart Publishing, 2016 Authority in Transnational Legal Theory: Theorising Across Disciplinary Borders, co-edited with Roger Cotterrell, Edward Elgar, 2016 ‘Learning How to Read a Case: Resources and Activities from the Visual and Dramatic Arts‘, in B. von Klink and B. de Vries (eds.), Academic Learning in Law: Theoretical Positions, Teaching Experiments and Learning Experiences, Edward Elgar, 2016, 244-266 Legal Fictions in Theory and Practice, co-edited with William Twining, Springer, 2015 ‘Legal Fictions and Legal Change in the Common Law Tradition‘, in Del Mar and Twining (eds.), Legal Fictions in Theory and Practice, Springer , 2015, 225-254 ‘Exemplarity and Narrativity in the Common Law Tradition‘ (2013) 25(3) Law & Literature 390- 427 SupervisionProfessor Del Mar welcomes proposals for supervision in legal theory and legal humanities. He is willing to consider any proposal in these fields, but is likely to be most helpful as a supervisor if the proposal falls within his main areas of research. Proposals in the following broad areas would be especially welcome: The theory and history of common law reasoning, especially its links to aesthetics, rhetoric, and poetics. Relations between law and cultural theory and history (including literature and the visual arts). The history and historiography of legal philosophy, and the importance of, and prospects for, historical jurisprudence. The theory and history of law in a global context. The tradition of Scottish jurisprudence, especially in and since the 18th century. Professor Del Mar is currently supervising: Luiza Tavares da Motta, It’s Alive!’: The Emotional Experience of Time and the Legitimation of Judge-Made Law in the Nineteenth Century, with Dr Tanzil Chowdhury, Law, 2021- Isa Bellati, The Field of Senses and the Senses over the Field: Rethinking Lawscapes for Constitutional Land-Disputes in Brazil, with Dr Elsa Noterman (Geography), 2024- Recently completed students: Ms Adela Halo, Ending the French Revolution: Germaine de Staël and the Birth of Liberalism in France, with Gareth Stedman-Jones, Schools of Law and History, 2015-2020 Gabrielle Schwarzmann, Trauma, Pain and Shame: Recovering the Experiences of Non-Elite Women in Late Medieval English Legal Culture, with Professor Miri Rubin, 2021-2024 Public EngagementCurrent: Founding Convenor of the Imagination Research Network, Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Queen Mary University of London Co-Convenor of the Research Seminar series of the Queen Mary Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies Member of the Advisory Committee of the Centre for the History of Political Thought, Queen Mary University of London Past: Academic Fellow of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple Founding Director of the Centre for Law and Society in a Global Context (CLSGC) Co-Convenor, International Network for Transnational Legal and Political Theory Member of the Committee of the Centre for the History of Emotions, Queen Mary University of London Related news2024 WG Hart Workshop held on 'Historicising Jurisprudence' 3 July 2024 Preview Symposium held in Edinburgh on Professor Del Mar’s new book on Neil MacCormick 14 June 2024 Professor Del Mar presents on ‘Reflexive Legal Humanities’ in India` 28 March 2024 Professor Maks Del Mar to deliver lecture in Helsinki's Legal History series 7 March 2024 Professor Maksymilian Del Mar joins the Editorial Collective of Public Humanities 1 December 2023 Professor Del Mar publishes special issue on ‘Cognitive Legal Humanities’ 4 September 2023 Professor Del Mar is co-organising the WG Hart Workshop 2024 31 July 2023 Queen Mary School of Law hosts conference on Law, Society, and Inequality for PhD Scholars 4 July 2023 Professor Maks Del Mar speaks at Adam Smith Tercentenary Celebration 12 June 2023 Symposium published on Professor Maks Del Mar’s Artefacts of Legal Inquiry 4 January 2023 Queen Mary expert co-edits special issue on ‘Contextual Legal Pedagogy’ 25 November 2022 Professor Maks Del Mar joins the Editorial Board of Law & Literature 23 June 2022 Maks Del Mar’s book, Artefacts of Legal Inquiry, wins the IVR’s Commendation for Excellence 22 June 2022 Professor Maks Del Mar to deliver Inaugural UK IVR MacCormick Lecture 20 January 2022 Australasian Society of Legal Philosophy holds Symposium on Maks Del Mar’s Artefacts of Legal Inquiry 12 November 2021 Scholarly Blog on Imagination hosts a Symposium on Professor Del Mar’s book 10 May 2021 Two Queen Mary PhD students win prestigious LAHP studentships 2 June 2020 Professor Maksymilian Del Mar awarded British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship 18 May 2020 New book explores the role of imagination in legal reasoning 9 April 2020 Professor Maksymilian Del Mar publishes monograph on imagination in legal reasoning 26 February 2020 Professor Maks Del Mar publishes collection on Virtue, Emotion and Imagination in Law and Legal Reasoning 6 February 2020 Prof. Maks Del Mar co-edits The Oxford Handbook of Law and Humanities 8 January 2020 Prof. Maksymilian Del Mar to visit the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto as a Distinguished Visitor 8 November 2019 Prof. Maksymilian Del Mar to speak in Berlin at Multiple Legalities conference 8 November 2019 Dr Del Mar joins Editorial Board of Jus Cogens 25 February 2019 How can digital technologies help us to improve the way we communicate? 21 December 2018 Dr Maks Del Mar to speak at conference on Law and Poetics in Cambridge 1 May 2018 Dr Maks Del Mar joins the International Editorial Board of the International Journal of Law in Context. 8 February 2018 Dr Maks Del Mar becomes Co-Editor of the Law in Context series at Cambridge University Press 1 November 2017 Dr Maks Del Mar to deliver lecture in Salzburg 24 October 2017 Dr Maks Del Mar gives seminar at the Aesthetics Research Centre 24 October 2017 Dr Maks Del Mar to deliver Keynote Lecture at Joint Conference of the Netherlands Association of Legal Philosophy and the Netherlands Association of the Sociology of Law 13 October 2017 Dr Maks Del Mar speaks in Paris in honour of Geoffrey Samuel 7 December 2016 Centre for Law and Society in a Global Context holds first International Dialogue with Erasmus Law School 1 November 2016 Dr Maks Del Mar delivers Inner Temple lecture on Legal Reasoning in the Common Law Tradition 21 October 2016 Dr Maks Del Mar to lecture in Poland 21 October 2016 New book published: 'Law in Theory and History: New Essays on a Neglected Dialogue' co-edited by Dr Maks Del Mar and Professor Michael Lobban 18 October 2016 New book published: 'Authority in Transnational Legal Theory: Theorising Across Disciplines' co-edited by Professor Roger Cotterrell and Dr Maks Del Mar 4 October 2016 Dr Maks Del Mar to lecture in Colombia and Mexico 10 May 2016 First Year PhD Student Dan Davison-Vecchione accepted on summer school program at Cornell University 11 April 2016 Dr Maks Del Mar speaks on legal fictions at Oxford 15 March 2016 Dr Maks Del Mar and Professor Amalia Amaya win British Academy / Newton Grant 9 February 2016 Dr Del Mar to speak on Neil MacCormick at St. Andrews 17 September 2015 Roger Cotterrell and Maks Del Mar convene a workshop in Washington for The International Association of Legal and Social Philosophy (IVR) 5 August 2015 Dr Del Mar speaks on Legal Theory in Singapore and Harvard 23 June 2015 Dr Maks Del Mar published collection on 'Legal Fictions in Theory and Practice' 18 March 2015 Dr Del Mar presents two papers on Neil MacCormick in Edinburgh 4 March 2015 Professor Cotterrell and Dr Del Mar present at conference for the launch of the National University of Singapore Centre for Legal Theory 19 February 2015 QMUL publishes archive dedicated to life and works of Professor Sir Neil MacCormick 30 October 2014 Dr Del Mar edits new three-volume series on Contemporary Legal Theory 12 September 2014