Intern Spotlight: Tom Ballard
Legal Humanities Internship Inspires New Perspectives
The HRI-Mellon Legal Humanities Research Group is a multi-generational team of faculty, post-doctoral and graduate students, and undergraduate interns, all exploring research at the intersection of humanities and the law. We spoke with Legal Humanities intern Tom Ballard, who is graduating this May with a degree in economics and political science. He is hoping to take a research position in economics once he graduates, with the hope of pursing a PhD in Economics or attending law school.
Interview by Elena Vara, David F. Prindable Intern
What interested you in applying for the Legal Humanities internship?
I thought it would be a great opportunity to continue learning about things that I've been interested in, like law and criminal justice. It would also enable me to continue to work in the humanities and develop my own values. Being well-rounded is important.
When working and researching, what aspects really motivate or excite you with the projects you're working on?
I'm interested in use of force and legitimacy and policing. There are very large debates going on in society—very large moral conflicts, very large movements in response to those conflicts. Very few people are asking what the proper scope of policing or use of force should be. It's been cool to research use of force and economics and to tackle the same subjects from two different perspectives.
How does this internship experience support HRI’s Legal Humanities Research Group?
We tried to take the things from our discussion and use them to inform our own research. Our own research is like a direct literary contribution to legal humanities. Any contribution to research is kind of diffuse. It's hard to track what impact it has, but I think it's helping us inform our own values and views for whatever we do in the future.
What past experiences have helped you prepare for this internship?
On the academic side, there were a lot of courses in political theory that informed my value set. It also helped me understand some of the broader debates that are happening in philosophy and how that might apply to legal humanities. I interned with the public defender’s office for two years and that definitely helped me develop an interest in criminal justice and the rights of people.
Do you think any of those connections that you’ve made will help you if you do pursue a doctorate degree or a law degree later?
Professor Murphy is our chair, and she's also a law professor. Her training is in philosophy. We have a lot of interactions where there's only eight people in the room, and we're all talking for two hours. We get to know each other a lot better than a normal classroom. They are a wealth of knowledge. I can ask, “Hey, you know what I'm interested in pursuing. Based on what you’ve seen so far, what area of law do you think I might be interested in? Can you point me in the right direction?”
The Legal Humanities Research Group includes pre-doctoral and post-doctoral scholars, how has working with these researchers and the different stages of their work influenced your future?
There aren't many experiences in college where you get to interact with graduate students. It's been really cool to hear their perspectives on things because they each have training in different fields. Seeing that has definitely inspired me.
All are welcome to attend the 2022 Legal Humanities Undergraduate Research Symposium on April 29, 2022.