Nehal Patel, Ph.D., J.D.

Teaching Areas:
Criminology & Criminal Justice Studies, Master of Science in Criminology and Criminal Justice, Sociology, Women's & Gender StudiesResearch Areas:
Civil Rights, Environmental Justice, Gandhi Thought, Research MethodsBiography and Education
Dr. Patel has begun a series of undertakings called the Mindful Law Project, which aims to develop social & legal thought through the thought of Gandhi and the insights of meditative & contemplative traditions. His current projects involve applications of Gandhi鈥檚 thought to environmental justice and to LGBTQ civil rights. His projects further the inclusion of non-western thought in academic inquiry & the liberal arts. Currently, he is interested in connecting recent research on mindfulness meditation & consciousness to social & legal theory. He also is interested in multi-method scholarship and has used several research methodologies: experimental, quantitative, qualitative interview, document/text & film analysis, and case method.
Teaching and Research
Courses Taught
Selected Publications
Patel, Nehal A. 鈥淲hy Lawyers Fear Love: Mohandas Gandhi鈥檚 Significance to the Mindfulness In Law Movement.鈥 British Journal of American Legal Studies, Volume 4, 2015.
Patel, Nehal A. 鈥淢indful Justice: The Search for Gandhi鈥檚 Sympathetic State After Bhopal.鈥 Social Justice Research, Volume 28, Issue 3, 2015.
Patel, Nehal A., & Ksenia Petlakh. 鈥淕andhi鈥檚 Nightmare: Bhopal and the Need For A Mindful Jurisprudence.鈥 Harvard Journal on Racial and Ethnic Justice, Volume 30, 2014.
Patel, Nehal A., & Lauren Vella. 鈥淎 Mindful Environmental Jurisprudence?: Speculations on the application of Gandhi鈥檚 Thought to MCWC v. Nestle.鈥 Pace Environmental Law Review, Volume 30, Number 3, Summer 2013.
Awards and Recognition
每日大赛 Distinguished Teaching Award (Non-Tenure), 2013
Research Interests
Thought of Gandhi; Non-Western Social Theory; Critical Legal Theory; Gender, Sexuality & Law; Law & Activism; Cultural Studies in Meditation & Mindfulness