Thomas H. Morawetz

Tapping Reeve Professor of Law and Ethics

Education/Professional Certification

JD, Yale Law School
BA, Harvard College

Expertise

Criminal Law, Legal Philosophy, Philosophical Epistemology, Justice, Law and Language

Biography

Legal philosopher and scholar Thomas H. Morawetz has taught at UConn Law since 1977, where his recent course offerings include Criminal Law, Contemporary Legal Theory, Law and Literature, and Jurisprudence. A graduate of Harvard College, Morawetz pursued his interests in law, literature and philosophy as a Fulbright Fellow at University College, Oxford, after which he earned an M.Phil. and Ph.D. in philosophy at Yale University, where he also earned his JD. Prior to joining the Law School faculty, Professor Morawetz taught philosophy for several years at Yale, first as an assistant professor and then as an associate professor. His teaching experience also includes visiting professorships at the University of Southern California, Hastings College of Law, the University of San Diego, Exeter University in the U.K., Tilburg University in The Netherlands and Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

A prolific writer, Professor Morawetz has authored or edited numerous books, including a collection of his essays on legal philosophy, Law’s Premises, Law’s Promise: Jurisprudence after Wittgenstein, and co-authored a casebook on criminal law. His latest book, Literature and the Law, and an accompanying teacher’s manual, were published in 2007. As part of the reissuance of the book in 2010, Morawetz recorded eight lectures for the publisher, Aspen. In addition, he has published more than 40 articles on criminal law, legal philosophy, philosophical epistemology, justice, law and language, professional responsibility and law and literature. Morawetz’s eclectic writings also include reviews of modern literature, mystery and fiction, as well as a forthcoming book on philosophy, psychology and film.