Why Hotels in New Zealand Have Trampolines: Risk, Responsibility, and Legal Consciousness
Channel: University of Vermont
Date: 04/03/2016

Kathy Fox, professor of sociology, gave this UVM College of Arts and Sciences Full Professor Lecture, January 26, 2016.

Both the U.S. and New Zealand are common law countries, both former British colonies.  Yet the U.S. is notorious for its litigation, while New Zealand has the most comprehensive "no-fault" system in the world.  Even in cases of negligence, victims can apply to the government for compensation; the burden for accidents and injuries is shared communally.  Is there something unique about New Zealand legal consciousness?  Do New Zealanders think differently about matters related to risk-taking, harm, and remedies?  Professor Fox will discuss the interaction between legal structure, culture, and the ways that law figures into everyday lives and experiences, particularly around notions of risk, responsibility, and remedy.  

Kathy Fox came to UVM in 1994, after receiving her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.  Her research has been largely focused on issues related to social control and risk discourse(s), specifically studying interventions with high-risk violent offenders and street-based drug injectors.  In 2013, she received a Fulbright Senior Scholar award to conduct research on New Zealand's approach to restorative justice and offender reentry.

The College of Arts and Sciences Full Professor Lecture Series was designed to give newly promoted faculty an opportunity to share with the university community a single piece of research or overview of research trajectory meant to capture the spark of intellectual excitement that has resulted in their achieving full professor rank.