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About our Fall 2024 courses

Courses in constitutional studies come from across the university disciplines. If you’d like to learn more about individual courses or request advising on which classes to take, please book an appointment with Associate Director Dr. Deborah O'Malley (domalle2@nd.edu) here.

Please note that seats listed under a "CNST" course number are reserved for students who have officially declared the Constitutional Studies minor. However, those courses also have a primary or parent department course number (e.g., POLS or HIST), which may or may not be open to anyone. Any course on our list is eligible for minor credit, no matter which seat a student is enrolled in (a CNST seat or otherwise). Typically, AP course credits are applied only to University requirements and electives, not toward majors or minors.

CLICK THE COURSE TO SEE DESCRIPTION

*updated 4.3.24

Overcriminalization of America
- Instructor: Thapar, Amul
- CNST Number: CNST 30440
- Time: September 15-17, 7-9 pm and November 3-5, 7-9 pm
Overcriminalization of America
- Instructor: Thapar, Amul
- CNST Number: CNST 30440
- Time: September 15-17, 7-9 pm and November 3-5, 7-9 pm
The average American, according to one legal scholar, commits three felonies a day. In this 1-credit course, we will discuss how America’s federal criminal law has become so expansive, what dangers may arise from this expansion, and what can be done about it. During this two-week course, we will study the development of the federal criminal code and the cases underlying it. Beginning with the American Founding, we will consider the purpose of criminal law and whether America’s criminal laws and regulations have strayed from this purpose. The course will be taught by the Honorable Amul Thapar, judge on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Keeping The Republic
- Instructor: Campbell, David
- CNST Number: 20003
- Time: MW 3:30pm-4:20pm
WKSS
Keeping The Republic
- Instructor: Campbell, David
- CNST Number: 20003
- Time: MW 3:30pm-4:20pm
Back in 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked what kind of government the new American Constitution created. He responded, "a republic, if you can keep it." Today, many people are asking whether the republic-and thus democracy in America-as we know it will survive. Trust is low, polarization is high, and longstanding democratic norms are being shattered left and right. Some scholars have even suggested that the US is on the brink of a new civil war. Others, however, argue that things are not as bad as they seem. This course tackles the big questions about current state of democracy in the United States. Is the US actually a democracy? (And is that different than a republic?) If so, how, when, and why did it become a democracy? Will the US remain a democracy? Finally, what role can YOU play in keeping the republic? This course is designed for students of all backgrounds and majors. Whether you have thought a lot or a little about the state of democracy in America, you are welcome in this class.
Decolonial Theories
- Instructor: Forjwuor, Bernard
- Primary Number: AFST 33651
- CNST Number: CNST 30648
- Time: MW 11:00-12:15
AFSS
Decolonial Theories
- Instructor: Forjwuor, Bernard
- Primary Number: AFST 33651
- CNST Number: CNST 30648
- Time: MW 11:00-12:15
How do we conceptually engage the question of decolonization? What is the nature of its conceptual antithesis from which it seeks its complete separation? Decolonization has become a metaphor for decentering the hegemony of Eurocentrism and re-positioning normative epistemologies and ontologies to include subaltern and marginalized ways of knowing, being, and doing. This course is a critical interrogation of the theories, philosophies, processes, and accounts of colonialism and decolonization. The aim is to chart critical paths to rethinking the meaning and impact of these concepts. By interrogating how normative concepts, ideas, theories, and philosophies affirming the legitimacy of colonialism were employed and deployed to subjugate, exploit, and dominate colonized subjects, the course affirms a critical practice that opens new spaces for rethinking the conceptual occupation of decolonization. In this course, we will survey the core texts that have spurred decolonial theories and movements in Africa and the Americas. However, given that decolonial discourse now touches on nearly every aspect of society — past, present, and future — the topics covered in this course will by no means be exhaustive, but are designed to open intellectual space for renewed debates about the meaning and conceptual boundaries of decolonial theories.
Neoliberalism & the American University
- Instructor: Cheuk, Eric
- Primary Number: AMST 30134
- CNST Number: CNST 30647
- Time: MW 12:30-1:45
Neoliberalism & the American University
- Instructor: Cheuk, Eric
- Primary Number: AMST 30134
- CNST Number: CNST 30647
- Time: MW 12:30-1:45
This course examines the recent history of the American university. It asks how the last four decades of political-economic restructuring often described as “neoliberalism” – skyrocketing personal debt, privatization of public goods, and more – have reshaped its social function and institutional structure, its labor struggles and relation to local communities. Through readings in critical university studies, ethnic studies, and American literature, we will build a conceptual vocabulary to critically engage these transformations and, in the process, ask fundamental questions about the modern university: what it is, who it is for, and what it might yet be.
Economic Sins
- Instructor: Otteson, James
- Primary Number: BES 43100
- CNST Number: CNST 30436
- Time: MW 9:30-10:45
Economic Sins
- Instructor: Otteson, James
- Primary Number: BES 43100
- CNST Number: CNST 30436
- Time: MW 9:30-10:45
This course is a discussion-based seminar investigating a series of “economic sins.” That is, we will explore differing perspectives on a series of controversies in economics and business, such as just or fair wages, collective action problems, exploitation, asymmetry in knowledge and leverage, inequality, sweatshops, sustainability, and cronyism. How does business in a market economy give rise to such problems? How does it, or can it, address them? What is the proper role of government with respect to such issues? Readings will draw from classical and contemporary sources in economics, philosophy, theology, political science, and business ethics, and will represent a range of perspectives. This course is part of the Business and the Common Good minor.
Cybercrime and the Law
- Instructor: Tamashasky, Eric
- Primary Number: CDT 40220
- CNST Number: CNST 30420
- Time: TR 5:05-6:20
CDCY, CDDF
Cybercrime and the Law
- Instructor: Tamashasky, Eric
- Primary Number: CDT 40220
- CNST Number: CNST 30420
- Time: TR 5:05-6:20
Almost all crimes, or even human interactions, contain a digital component. The fact that "old" laws don't always fit "new" problems is no more apparent than in the area of cybercrimes. This course will include discussion of topics including: the methodology of typical cyber investigations, the application of the Fourth Amendment to digital evidence, and different types of cyber-specific laws enforced today. The course will also focus on the responses of both courts and legislators to the ever-evolving issues presented by computer crimes
Surviving the Digital Apocalypse
- Instructor: Robinson, Brett
- Primary Number: CDT 40712
- CNST Number: CNST 30439
- Time: TR 12:30-1:45
Surviving the Digital Apocalypse
- Instructor: Robinson, Brett
- Primary Number: CDT 40712
- CNST Number: CNST 30439
- Time: TR 12:30-1:45
The end is nigh! Who will save us from Apple or the AI replicants or the alien invasion? If you take this class, it might just be you. Do you think you have what it takes to confront the digital leviathan with its insatiable hunger for human data? If so, you will need cutting edge survival skills and friends you can trust. This course offers both in the form of radical ideas, acts of digital rebellion and real offline friendships that cannot be reduced to a group text. It also helps to know that we’ve been here before. With each new advance in human communication technology, the cultural DNA mutates and spawns new forms of art, literature, beliefs, institutions and practices. Understanding this process is the key to surviving the upheaval. In this course, we are not optimistic or pessimistic about technology, only apocalyptic. What is being revealed and what will be required to preserve our humanity?
International Law & Human Rights
- Instructor: Desierto, Diane
- Primary Number: CHR 30708
- CNST Number: CNST 30245
- Time: MW 2:00-3:15
International Law & Human Rights
- Instructor: Desierto, Diane
- Primary Number: CHR 30708
- CNST Number: CNST 30245
- Time: MW 2:00-3:15
What role does international law have in the advancement of human rights, and how does human rights, in turn, advance international law? This course introduces university students to the general system of modern international law (e.g. its norm-generating framework involving States and non-State actors; the roles of many State and non-State authoritative decision-makers in shaping expectations of peaceful, just, and responsible behavior in the international system; its varied constellation of dispute settlement courts and tribunals, alongside the prospects and limits of enforcing State compliance with international decisions), specifically viewed from the lens of historic global, regional, and domestic challenges to human dignity that influenced the first global codification of human rights norms under the United Nations' 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, up to the present development of the current international system of protection for human rights. The course situates the framework of modern international law and civil, political, economic, social, and cultural human rights, using five examples of the historic, defining, and 'constitutionalizing moments' for the international system: 1) the international abolition of slavery; 2) the evolution from classical to modern international law in dismantling colonial empires to enshrine the self-determination of all peoples and the equality of sovereignty of all nations; 3) the outlawing of the aggressive use of force since 1929, towards the peaceful settlement of maritime and territorial disputes and the humanitarian rules applicable to armed conflict situations; 4) the establishment of international accountability of individuals and States for genocide, crimes against humanity and other human rights atrocities; and 5) the global regulation for sustainable use, shared protection, and intergenerational responsibility over natural resources (land, oceans, atmosphere, outer space).
Monetary Theory and Policy
- Instructor: Sims, Eric
- Primary Number: ECON 40364
- Time: TR 2:00-3:15
CFEL, MPPE
Monetary Theory and Policy
- Instructor: Sims, Eric
- Primary Number: ECON 40364
- Time: TR 2:00-3:15
This course will cover the development of monetary theory and policy with a particular focus on financial crises and the appropriate central bank response. Other topics include the welfare cost of inflation, countercyclical monetary policy, and central bank independence.
Education Law and Policy
- Instructor: Schoenig, John
- Primary Number: ESS 30605
- CNST Number: CNST 30402
- Time: MW 2:00-3:15
ESEI, ESSP
Education Law and Policy
- Instructor: Schoenig, John
- Primary Number: ESS 30605
- CNST Number: CNST 30402
- Time: MW 2:00-3:15
This course focuses on selected legal and policy issues related to K-12 education in the United States. A central theme is the intersection of K-12 schooling and the state, with a particular focus on Constitutional issues of religious freedom and establishment, student speech and privacy, parental choice, educational opportunity, and education reform trends such as charter schools and accountability measures. Questions examined over the course of the semester include: What are the most basic obligations of the state with regard to its regulation of K-12 education? What are the most basic rights of parents in this regard? In what ways does the 1st Amendment protect - and limit - the speech and privacy rights of K-12 schoolchildren? In what ways may the state accommodate K-12 schools with an explicitly religious character? What are the Constitutional requirements with regard to religious speech or expression within K-12 public schools? To what degree is the principle of equality manifest in the form of educational opportunity? How has this changed over time? In what ways have education reform trends such as charter schooling and increased accountability changed the policy landscape of K-12 education?
Early Childhood Education Policy in the U.S.
- Instructor: Fulcher-Dawson, Rachel
- Primary Number: ESS 30629
- CNST Number: CNST 30405
- Time: MW 9:30-10:45
ESEI, ESSP, WKSS, WRIT
Early Childhood Education Policy in the U.S.
- Instructor: Fulcher-Dawson, Rachel
- Primary Number: ESS 30629
- CNST Number: CNST 30405
- Time: MW 9:30-10:45
This course covers the various issues relevant to the current early childhood education landscape. This includes theories of early learning and child development, policy development in the United States, the issues of inequality and the achievement gap (particularly related to K-12 Education Reform) and research on interventions or "what works" in early childhood programming. The advantage to understanding the theories of child development, the policy context and the intervention research is that it gives future teachers and future policymakers a foundational premise upon which to grow, analyze, learn and teach. Topics covered will include: Theories of Child Development (Infant Schools to Present), Head Start and the CCDBG, State Preschool, Inequality and the Achievement Gap in the Early Years and Interventions in Early Childhood (HighScope/Perry Preschool, Abecedarian and Chicago Parent Studies, Head Start Research). The goal of this class is to come away with a greater understanding of the language, the history, the goals and the possibilities in this policy area as well as its connections to other social welfare programs and to K-12 schooling. Students will become more fluent in the language of early childhood education and will gain the foundational knowledge of past and current theories, laws, policies and educational interventions.
American Evangelicals and Global Affairs
- Instructor: Powell, Charles
- Primary Number: GLAF 30606
- CNST Number: CNST 30251
- Time: MW 9:30-10:45
GLBC, GLEL
American Evangelicals and Global Affairs
- Instructor: Powell, Charles
- Primary Number: GLAF 30606
- CNST Number: CNST 30251
- Time: MW 9:30-10:45
Since the end of the Cold War, American Evangelicals' political influence has increased significantly. For example, Christian Zionist have continued to contribute meaningfully to American political support for the state of Israel. Additionally, to improve human dignity, Evangelicals have established schools and promoted literacy, built clinics and dispensaries, promoted agricultural development and distributed food aid, created orphanages, and propagated values about the inherent worth of all persons. Twenty-five to thirty percent of the US population is neo-evangelical and another five to ten percent adheres to some form of evangelical theology. That means that 100 million Americans are in one way or another tied to evangelical theology and they seem to pray, think, vote, and lobby as a coalition. This course will examine the rise of American Evangelicalism and explore matters deemed important to Evangelicals: social and political affairs, global engagement, participation in public affairs, international affairs, support of Israel, political and economic development. More generally, this course offers a compelling account of Evangelicals' influence on America's role in the world. Students will learn how to engage more thoughtfully and productively with this influential religious group - a group that has been called political kingmakers! Students will also learn about the largest protestant denomination in the world - Southern Baptists - from the professor, who was a former Southern Baptist Minister and church planter.
Introduction to Public Policy
- Instructor: Mueller, Paul
- Primary Number: HESB 20010
- CNST Number: CNST 20405
- Time: TR 9:30-10:45
Introduction to Public Policy
- Instructor: Mueller, Paul
- Primary Number: HESB 20010
- CNST Number: CNST 20405
- Time: TR 9:30-10:45
Public policy could be fairly described as applied social science. This course will introduce you to the fundamentals of public policy by (1) understanding how policy is crafted, (2) detailing the linkages between public opinion and public policy, (3) appreciating how political institutions may bound policy outcomes, (4) and exploring the ability of special interests, and other parties, to shape policy outcomes all while introducing you to various tools and frameworks for approaching the study of public policy. These tools will draw from an understanding of human behavior (psychology), markets (economics), governments (political science), and organizations (sociology) and introduce you to policy analysis. We will use a case study approach to delve into current public policy controversies including healthcare, higher education finance, and infrastructure. This course acts as the primary introductory course for the Hesburgh Minor in Public Service, but is designed for students of all majors and interests.
Philanthropy & the Common Good
- Instructor: Hannah, Jon
- Primary Number: HESB 30348
- CNST Number: CNST 30423
- Time: M 6:00-8:30
CSTE, HPVL, ZCSC
Philanthropy & the Common Good
- Instructor: Hannah, Jon
- Primary Number: HESB 30348
- CNST Number: CNST 30423
- Time: M 6:00-8:30
This course will explore the roots of philanthropy in American society, the role philanthropy plays within the modern economy, and how philanthropic activity helps us create a better world and strive for the common good. The key component of the course requires students to act as a Board of Directors and use thoughtful analysis to award real grants to deserving nonprofits (a sum up to $50,000). Students are expected to come to each class prepared to discuss course readings, and to offer ideas and suggestions regarding the grant making process. Each student is also expected to complete two site visits to nonprofit organizations outside of normal class hours. Students will nominate nonprofits for awards and the class will systematically discuss, analyze, and ultimately vote to award the grants.
France: From the Old Regime to the Revolution
- Instructor: Jarvis, Katie
- Primary Number: HIST 30450
- CNST Number: CNST 30605
- Time: TR 11:00-12:15
HBEU, HCT3, MESE, WKHI
France: From the Old Regime to the Revolution
- Instructor: Jarvis, Katie
- Primary Number: HIST 30450
- CNST Number: CNST 30605
- Time: TR 11:00-12:15
Between 1643 and 1789, France underwent one of the most pivotal national transitions in modern European history. In the second half of the seventeenth century, Louis XIV reigned as the most powerful divine right monarch on the continent. He marshaled religious ideology, set cultural standards, pursued economic projects, and waged wars to consolidate his authority over the French and foreign powers alike. Yet, by the late eighteenth century, Louis XVI's crumbling crown gave way to the Revolution. The French ultimately dethroned the king and established a republic. Our class will explore how the French negotiated this tumultuous trajectory from subjects to citizens. We will analyze three main themes over the course of the Old Regime. First, we will wrestle with issues of modern state building including administrative reform, military campaigns, financial ventures, and expansion in the New World. Second, we will study the relationship among politics, culture, and religion as the French vacillated between critique and reform. Finally, we will probe the origins of the French Revolution. These sparks ranged from Enlightenment debates over contract theory and social privilege to the stresses of everyday life including taxes and food shortages. We will close as the revolutionaries imagined nascent citizenship on the eve of the republic. In sum, this course will ask: how did European democracy find its roots in an absolute monarchy? And how did generations of French work out this transition through their everyday lives?
Crime, Heredity, and Insanity in American History
- Instructor: Przybyszewski, Linda; Batt, David
- Primary Number: HIST 30634
- CNST Number: CNST 30428
- Time: TR 9:30-10:45
HBNA, HCT5, PSIM, WKHI
Crime, Heredity, and Insanity in American History
- Instructor: Przybyszewski, Linda; Batt, David
- Primary Number: HIST 30634
- CNST Number: CNST 30428
- Time: TR 9:30-10:45
This course gives students the opportunity to learn more about how Americans have thought about criminal responsibility and how their ideas have changed over time. Historians contend that the 19th century witnessed a transformation in the understanding of the origins of criminal behavior in the United States. The earlier religious emphasis on the sinfulness of all mankind, which made the murderer into merely another sinner, gave way to a belief in the inherent goodness of humankind. But if humans were naturally good, how are we to explain their evil actions? And crime rates varied widely by sex and race; European women were said to have been domesticated out of crime doing. What do those variations tell us about a common human nature? The criminal might be a flawed specimen of humankind born lacking a healthy and sane mind. Relying in part upon studies done in Europe, American doctors, preachers, and lawyers debated whether insanity explained criminality over the century and how it expressed itself in different races and sexes. Alternative theories were offered. Environment, heredity, and free will were all said to have determined the actions of the criminal. By the early 20th century, lawyers and doctors had largely succeeded in medicalizing criminality. Psychiatrists now treated criminals as patients; judges invoked hereditary eugenics in sentencing criminals. Science, not sin, had apparently become the preferred mode of explanation for the origins of crime. But was this a better explanation than what had come before? Can it explain the turbulent debates in the late 20th and early 21st Centuries over variations in crime rates by race? Can it explain why men, not women, are still more likely to commit murder?
The United States in the Reagan Years
- Instructor: Soares, John
- Primary Number: HIST 30863
- CNST Number: CNST 30020
- Time: MW 3:30-4:45
HBNA, HCT5, WKHI
The United States in the Reagan Years
- Instructor: Soares, John
- Primary Number: HIST 30863
- CNST Number: CNST 30020
- Time: MW 3:30-4:45
From his national television appearance in support of the doomed Goldwater presidential campaign in 1964 through his failed presidential runs in 1968 and 1976 and his presidency (1981-89) on to the official dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ronald Reagan played a significant role in, and in reaction to, major developments in American politics, foreign policy, and society. This class will consider the turbulence and protest movements of the 1960s; the conservative backlash; the individualism of the Me Decade and beyond; foreign policy issues including Vietnam, détente, the "second Cold War," and the end of the Cold War; and national political disputes over issues like taxes, abortion, foreign policy and nuclear weapons.
World Politics: An Introduction to Comparative Politics
- Instructor: Schiumerini, Luis
- Primary Number: POLS 10400
- CNST Number: CNST 20200
- Time: MW 11:30am-12:20pm
WKSS
World Politics: An Introduction to Comparative Politics
- Instructor: Schiumerini, Luis
- Primary Number: POLS 10400
- CNST Number: CNST 20200
- Time: MW 11:30am-12:20pm
This course will focus on the relationship between democratic institutions, peace, and economic/human development. While drawing on lessons from North America and Europe, we will focus largely on countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. During the semester, we will discuss and debate the merits of various explanations or hypotheses that political scientists have proposed to answer the following questions: Why are some countries more "developed" and democratic than others? Is development necessary for democracy or democracy necessary for development? What is the relationship between culture, development, and democracy? How do different types of political institutions affect the prospects for development and democracy? Should/how should U.S. and other established democracies promote democratization? By the end of the course, the objectives are that students (1) learn the most important theories intended to explain why some countries are more democratic and "developed" than others, (2) understand the complexity of any relationship between democracy and development, and (3) grow in the ability to think about and intelligently assess the strengths and weaknesses of strategies intended to promote democracy and development.
Political Theory
- Instructor: Villa, Dana
- Primary Number: POLS 10600
- CNST Number: CNST 20602
- Time: MW 2:00pm-2:50pm
WKSP
Political Theory
- Instructor: Villa, Dana
- Primary Number: POLS 10600
- CNST Number: CNST 20602
- Time: MW 2:00pm-2:50pm
This course is an introduction to political theory as a tradition of discourse and as a way of thinking about politics. The course surveys selected works of political theory and explores some of the recurring themes and questions that political theory addresses, especially the question of justice. This introductory course fulfils the political theory breadth requirement for the political science major.
Constitutional Law: Powers and Institutions
- Instructor: Bambrick, Christina
- Primary Number: POLS 30073
- CNST Number: CNST 30407
- Time: MW 11:00-12:15
MPPE
Constitutional Law: Powers and Institutions
- Instructor: Bambrick, Christina
- Primary Number: POLS 30073
- CNST Number: CNST 30407
- Time: MW 11:00-12:15
This course will examine constitutional law and interpretation in the United States, focusing on the division of powers and the authority of key institutions under the Constitution. We will consider the Court's interpretation of the scope of power granted to Congress, the executive branch, and the federal judiciary, in addition to the powers reserved to the states. We will examine the ways in which constitutional interpretation of powers and authority has changed over time and gain an understanding of where the Court stands on these issues today. In each section we will discuss pivotal moments in interpretation, such as congressional power after the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment, the expansion of the commerce power during the New Deal, and the resurgence of state powers during the Rehnquist Court's federalism revolution. We will also deal with cases currently before the Court, including those that involve the Affordable Care Act, and cases that will likely come before the Court, such as challenges to President Obama's executive changes to immigration policy. This approach will help students to consider how political factors and the changing membership of the Court affect constitutional interpretation.
Free Speech
- Instructor: Hall, Matthew
- Primary Number: POLS 30077
- CNST Number: CNST 30419
- Time: MW 2:00-3:15
MPPE
Free Speech
- Instructor: Hall, Matthew
- Primary Number: POLS 30077
- CNST Number: CNST 30419
- Time: MW 2:00-3:15
This course examines the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution and its interpretation in American constitutional law. Students will participate in Socratic method discussions, class debates, and moot court exercises, in which students play the role of lawyers and justices arguing a Supreme Court case. Through these activities, students will explore the freedom of speech as it relates to sedition, libel, invasion of privacy, obscenity, commercial speech, broadcasting, and the internet.
Election 2024
- Instructor: Layman, Geoffrey; Kirk, James
- Primary Number: POLS 30103
- CNST Number: CNST 30438
- Time: TR 11:00-12:15
Election 2024
- Instructor: Layman, Geoffrey; Kirk, James
- Primary Number: POLS 30103
- CNST Number: CNST 30438
- Time: TR 11:00-12:15
In this class, we will examine the 2024 presidential election—in real time—and then consider its effects on America's political future. Presidential elections provide the biggest and most important stage for the drama of American democracy, and in 2024 the future of our democracy will be on the ballot. For the first time since 1956, we will have the same two major-party presidential candidates who ran in the last election. However, unlike 1956, which was a rather amicable contest between two political centrists, the 2024 presidential election comes on the heels of one of the two candidates participating in a concerted effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election and each political party depicting the other as a fundamental threat to American values. We will address all of this, from the "invisible primary" in 2022 and 2023, to the actual primaries and caucuses, the conventions, and the fall campaign and election. It does not matter whether you already know a lot or a little about presidential politics; if you want a front-row seat to the 2024 presidential election, this is the class for you.
Civil Liberties
- Instructor: O'Malley, Deborah
- Primary Number: POLS 40074
- CNST Number: CNST 40001
- Time: TR 3:30-4:45
Civil Liberties
- Instructor: O'Malley, Deborah
- Primary Number: POLS 40074
- CNST Number: CNST 40001
- Time: TR 3:30-4:45
Most courses in constitutional law narrate the Supreme Court's evolving positions on constitutional rights and institutions. This course starts not with the Supreme Court but with the Federalist Papers, from which it develops a general theory of the social and economic goals or ends of constitutional government in America. It then uses this theory as a framework for assessing the Supreme Court's position on property rights, race relations, personal privacy, and the place of religion in American life. This exercise can yield results that make for lively class discussion, not only about the Court, but about the adequacy of the Constitution itself. Grades will be based on a midterm and a final exam, with a paper option in lieu of the final.
Introduction to Criminology
- Instructor: Thomas, Mim
- Primary Number: SOC 20732
- CNST Number: CNST 20403
- Time: TR 11:00-12:15
PSIM, WKSS
Introduction to Criminology
- Instructor: Thomas, Mim
- Primary Number: SOC 20732
- CNST Number: CNST 20403
- Time: TR 11:00-12:15
Introduction to Criminology provides students with an overview of the sociological study of law making, law breaking and the resulting social responses. In this class we not only look at a variety of crimes, but we also discuss the varying methods sociologists use to collect, interpret and evaluate data, as well as how we theorize about crime and punishment. We address questions such as "Why are some people or groups labeled as criminal, while others are not?" "Do laws in both their construction and enforcement serve everyone's interests equally?" "How can the communities in which people are embedded be considered as criminogenic?" "How are poverty, race, gender and other social factors related to crime?"
Constitutionalism, Law, & Politics II
- Instructor: Muñoz, Vincent Phillip
- Primary Number: X
- CNST Number: CNST 50002
- Time: MW 9:30-10:45
Constitutionalism, Law, & Politics II
- Instructor: Muñoz, Vincent Phillip
- Primary Number: X
- CNST Number: CNST 50002
- Time: MW 9:30-10:45
In "Constitutionalism, Law & Politics II: American Constitutionalism," we shall study fundamental texts of the American constitutional and political tradition in an attempt to answer questions such as: What is the purpose of government? What is the meaning of political equality? What is political liberty and how is it best secured? Since we lack the time for a comprehensive survey of American political thinkers, we shall examine select statesmen and critical historical periods, focusing on the Founding era, Lincoln and the slavery crisis, and the Progressive era and New Deal.