Associate Professor Sarfaty brings a background in anthropology and legal scholarship to U of T Law
Over the summer, U of T Law welcomed Associate Professor Galit Sarfaty to the Faculty. As an anthropologist and legal scholar, Prof. Sarfaty’s background allows her to examine how legal institutions and the law function in practice. For example, her doctoral dissertation—which was later published as a book—examined the marginality of human rights in the World Bank using fieldwork within the organization.
Previously, Prof. Sarfaty taught at the Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the Department of Legal Studies and Business Ethics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. This year, she will be teaching Public International Law in the fall and Transnational Business and Human Rights in the spring.
Although she grew up and studied in the United States, Prof. Sarfaty became interested in Canadian law early on in her career. While studying anthropology at Harvard, she wrote her senior thesis on the campaign for political sovereignty among the Pimicikamak Cree Nation in Cross Lake, Manitoba. Through this project, she was introduced to the concept of legal pluralism, whereby multiple systems of law interact. An internship at the International Labour Organization deepened her interest in international law, the field she primarily works in today.
Prof. Sarfaty always sought to combine her passions for law and anthropology, which she has clearly been successful in doing. Currently, she is working on a project on the regulation of global supply chains and human rights among multinational corporations entitled “Supply Chain Governance at a Distance: How Technocratic Tools Shape the Implementation of Human Rights Due Diligence.”
While Prof. Sarfaty may be a little sad about having to trade mountain views for concrete buildings, she is already exploring all that Toronto has to offer. Her two young children particularly enjoyed Centre Island. Together, the family braved the Ontario heat and humidity to go multiple times this summer. As indicated by the Hokas underneath her desk, Prof. Sarfaty is also a runner and enjoys the outdoors (like most others hailing from BC). If you are looking for some reading material that is not case law or an academic article, she recommends her recent read, Jennifer Egan’s The Candy House, and its prequel, A Visit from the Goon Squad. The novels explore themes of love, corporate power, technology, and memory. If you don’t feel like doing any non-essential reading, you can probably explore (at least some of) those themes in her spring course as well!
Prof. Sarfaty expressed that she has already felt extremely welcomed by U of T Law’s vibrant and enthusiastic community. If you see her around, feel free to say hi, share your favourite running trails, and keep the good vibes going.
