Hersch Lauterpacht Memorial Lecture 2021: 'On Dignity' (Part 2): 'The Idea of Human Dignity' - Professor Susan Marks, London School of Economics

LCIL International Law Seminar Series

The Hersch Lauterpacht Memorial Lecture is an annual three-part lecture series given in Cambridge to commemorate the unique contribution to the development of international law of Sir Hersch Lauterpacht. These lectures are given annually by a person of eminence in the field of international law. This year's lecture will be given by Professor Susan Marks, Professor of International Law, London School of Economics. Lecture summary: These lectures explore dignity as a worldly phenomenon that is not just an idea, but also a social practice and lived experience. We say that dignity is a right, or a foundational concept for human rights, yet we know that, in reality, it is a privilege enjoyed by some of us more than others and all of us at some times of our lives more than at others. How are we to understand asymmetries in the distribution of dignity? What can we learn by approaching dignity from the perspective of the presumptively undignified? When dignity is not simply denied but refused, can we then make out a different, defiant dignity with a different relationship to indignity? Professor Susan Marks joined the LSE in 2010 as Professor of International Law. She previously taught at King’s College London and, prior to that, at the University of Cambridge, where she was a fellow of Emmanuel College. Her work attempts to bring insights from the radical tradition to the study of international law and human rights.