The 2026 Coxford Lecture

The 2026 Coxford Lecture will be presented by Professor Jason Stanley, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and the Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto. 

The Coxford Lecture brings outstanding scholars and jurists to Western Law and the wider community through an annual public lecture on the theme of the rule of law. This prestigious lecture series addresses pressing public law issues in an effort to promote and advance the rule of law. The lecture is funded by Western Law alumnus Stephen R. Coxford, LL.B. ‘77. 

About Jason Stanley
Jason Stanley is a philosopher, whose work ranges over philosophy of language, epistemology, linguistics, cognitive science, and social and political philosophy. Jason is the Bissell-Heyd Chair in American Studies in the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, and also has an appointment in the Department of Philosophy. In addition to his position at the Munk School, he is a Distinguished Professor at the Kyiv School of Economics. Before coming to the University of Toronto in 2025, he held positions as a Professor of Philosophy at Yale University (2013-2025), Rutgers University (2004-2013), The University of Michigan (2000-4), and Cornell University (1995-2000).  

The author of seven books and dozens of scholarly articles in multiple disciplines, Jason won the American Philosophical Association Book Prize in 2007 for his book Knowledge and Practical Interests (Oxford University Press, 2005), and the Prose Award in Philosophy for his 2015 book, How Propaganda Works (Princeton University Press, 2015). In addition to his academic work, Jason writes for a broader audience on the themes of authoritarianism, propaganda, free speech, mass incarceration, and democracy, most frequently for The New York Times, The Guardian, and Project Syndicate. Jason has also published in The Washington Post, Die Zeit, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Folha de São Paulo, El Pais and many other outlets across the world.  A New York Times bestselling author, Jason’s work has been translated into over 30 languages.

Stanley is a member of the Justice Collaboratory at Yale Law School, a fellow of the African American Policy Forum, and serves on the advisory board of the Prison Policy Initiative.