September 2018

The Research Institute of Environmental Law (RIEL) at Wuhan University’s School of Law is pleased to announce a one-day Writers’ Workshop, to be held at Wuhan University in mid-September 2018.

The objective of the Workshop is to assist 12 early-career environmental law scholars in China to publish a research article on environmental law in English in an international top-tier journal. Postdocs or recently appointed lecturers working at Chinese universities or scholars at the equivalent level at other academically oriented Chinese institutions, whether Chinese nationals or nationals of other countries, will be considered.

The Writers’ Workshop will be overseen by a committee consisting of Professors Qin Tianbao, Ben Boer, Ke Jian, Liu Jing, and Alexander Zahar, from RIEL, and Professor Benoit Mayer, from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

The working language of the Writers’ Workshop will be English.

Complete draft articles in English are to be submitted to the committee through Professor Zahar by Saturday 30 June 2018. The selection of the 12 invitees will be made on the basis of these drafts. The results will be announced in early August 2018.

Highly advanced and polished versions of the selected articles are to be submitted to the committee by late August 2018. These articles will be shared among the 12 invited scholars. All conference participants will be required to carefully read and formulate constructive comments on all of the workshop articles as a condition of their participation.

The Writers’ Workshop will be divided into six sessions, each dealing with two articles. The paired scholars will each introduce and critically discuss each other’s work. Comments will be invited from other workshop participants. Committee members will then present their advice on raising each article to a level where acceptance by an international journal is likely.

The Writers’ Workshop will be held in conjunction with RIEL’s annual PhD Forum, in September 2018. The PhD Forum’s dates have not yet been set, but the Forum will most likely be held in the middle of the month. The Writers’ Workshop will be scheduled for the day preceding the start of the PhD Forum.

RIEL will cover accommodation and meal expenses for the 12 selected participants, including for the days of the PhD Forum for those wishing to stay on for that event. At this stage RIEL unfortunately is not able to cover participants’ transportation costs, although an application is pending for funds that might be used to assist participants with these costs. Scholars travelling from distant places necessitating air transport (Taiwan, etc.) who are not reasonably able to cover their own transportation costs should contact the organizers.

Please send an expression of interest to Professor Zahar as soon as possible!