Constitutional Theory

The U.S. Constitution has generated more scholarship, political controversies, case law, fierce loyalty and philosophical disputes than most other founding documents. This class seeks to understand why and trace the outlines of these conflicts. We will look at different ways to approach the Constitution – as one historical possibility among many, as a philosophical masterpiece, as a practical instrument for structuring government – and investigate what each approach reveals and conceals. We will read champions, pragmatic defenders, and critics of the Constitution to understand why it emerged as such a flashpoint in U.S. American political thought and discourse. Towards the end of the course, we will look at the U.S. Constitution from an international and comparative vantage point. 

Students in this class will encounter key theories of constitutional interpretation and assess which aspects of the historical document and the ideas within are emphasized by each theory. Students will then apply different scholarly lenses to concrete historical cases and thus learn how to use the tools political theory and history provide for understanding constitutional interpretation, conflicts over such interpretation, and the sources for support for and skepticism of constitutionalism. The course provides students with an overview of different normative justifications for constitutionalism and tools to assess its effects on everyday political life.

Towards the end of the semester, students will be able to identify different approaches to the constitutional text and the constitution as a real-world institution with political consequences. They will further be able to provide both normative and historical reasons for constitutional design choices and offer a critical assessment of those choices and the trade-offs they entail.