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About our Spring 2023 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 contact Soren Grefenstette (sorengref@nd.edu) or book an appointment with her 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.

A GATEWAY COURSE WILL NOT BE OFFERED SPRING 2023.

CLICK THE COURSE TO SEE DESCRIPTION

*updated 11.1.22

Black Political Thought
- Instructor: Forjwuor, Bernard (BFORJWUO)
- Primary Number: AFST 30682-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30644
- Time: MW 9:30am-10:45am
Black Political Thought
- Instructor: Forjwuor, Bernard (BFORJWUO)
- Primary Number: AFST 30682-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30644
- Time: MW 9:30am-10:45am
This course will focus on the writings of Black political thinkers in the Americas, Africa, and Europe. Through critical examination of the conditions against, and contexts within, which the political theories of these thinkers are situated, this course hopes to arrive at some understanding of the principles, goals and strategies developed to contest and redefine notions/concepts of citizenship (vis-a-vis the imperatives of race/racism and the global colonial formations), humanity, justice, equality, development, democracy, and freedom.
History of American Capitalism
- Instructor: Garibaldi, Korey (KGARIBAL)
- Primary Number: AMST 30108-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30414
- Time: MW 9:30am-10:45am
HIST - old Core History; WKHI - new Core History
History of American Capitalism
- Instructor: Garibaldi, Korey (KGARIBAL)
- Primary Number: AMST 30108-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30414
- Time: MW 9:30am-10:45am
This course offers a broad thematic overview of the history of capitalism from the early sixteenth century up to the late 1980s. As a discussion-based seminar, we will devote most of our conversations to discovering, analyzing and reflecting on the transformation of the U.S. from a newly-independent British colony, to the most influential economic power in the world. Topics and themes we will consider include: the rise of early modern transnational capitalism, European imperialism and trade, and indigenous dispossession after 1492; science and technological transformations; social and economic thought; slavery and servitude, broadly construed; and characteristics of prosperity, wealth, and economic flux. Our readings and viewings will be a mix of scholarly and primary sources, including an abundance of canonical literary and artistic material, such as novels, visual art, and film excerpts (e.g. Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House (1879), Aaron Douglas's Building More Stately Mansions (1944), and Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence (1920)). Over the course of the semester, students will draw upon this eclectic combination of sources to synthesize the dominant historical dimensions of capitalism in and beyond the U.S. via four short essays (4 - 5 pages, double-spaced-between 1,100 and 1,400 words), and a final paper (10 - 12 pages, double-spaced) based on cumulative texts.
The Ideas that Made America
- Instructor: Cajka, Peter (PCAJKA)
- Primary Number: AMST 30177
- CNST Number: CNST 30035
- Time: MW 2pm-3:15pm
HIST - old Core History (HIST)
The Ideas that Made America
- Instructor: Cajka, Peter (PCAJKA)
- Primary Number: AMST 30177
- CNST Number: CNST 30035
- Time: MW 2pm-3:15pm
America, at its core, is an idea. The lands that became America have been imagined and in certain ways and constantly reimagined. The history of the ideas that made America is less a lesson in philosophy and more about a series of clashes between contending visions: Democracy vs. Republicanism; Free vs. Slave; Christian vs. Secular; Individual vs. Society; and Universal vs. Particular. This course traces a long arc from the Puritans to the Culture Wars to understand the ideas Americans draw upon to comprehend the world and act in it.Lectures and discussions will consider the notions of equality, democracy, pluralism, religious freedom, and the tensions between contending visions for America. Readings for this course will include autobiographies, speeches, sermons, canonical texts, lyrics, novels, newspaper articles, and poetry.
Schooling, Self, and Society
- Instructor: Bloomer, W. Martin (MBLOOMER)
- Primary Number: CLAS 20095-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30433
- Time: MW 12:30pm-1:45pm
Schooling, Self, and Society
- Instructor: Bloomer, W. Martin (MBLOOMER)
- Primary Number: CLAS 20095-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30433
- Time: MW 12:30pm-1:45pm
Liberal education is one of the greatest cultural achievements of the long Western tradition. But what's the point? And what exactly do we mean by liberal education? Is it education for free people or education to make people free? A people, a group, or just the individual? Privilege or liberation? We will ask why you are pursuing a liberal education. And study where it came from, how it has developed, what are its practices, and what are its justifications. We shall divide our focus between the theory and practice of education. Theorists will include Plato and other ancient, medieval, and early modern thinkers, but we shall devote considerable time to American experiments with liberal education (proponents, critics, opponents). Here we shall read selections from Booker T. Washington, John Dewey, Mortimer Adler, but also the Brazilian Paulo Freire, bell hooks, and contemporary self-described culture warriors. On the practice side: we will consider the materials and conditions of education at various places and times. We shall also practice ourselves some of the ancient and early modern techniques (of writing, reading, memorizing, and performing).
The Age of Alexander
- Instructor: Baron, Christopher (CBARON1)
- Primary Number: CLAS 30112-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30600
- Time: TTh 12:30pm-1:45pm
HIST - old Core History; WKHI - new Core History
The Age of Alexander
- Instructor: Baron, Christopher (CBARON1)
- Primary Number: CLAS 30112-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30600
- Time: TTh 12:30pm-1:45pm
This course examines the military achievements of Alexander of Macedon (356-323B.C.) and their far-reaching political, social, cultural, and religious consequences. Topics covered include the Greek, Macedonian, Persian, and other cultural contexts of the time, Alexander's attitude toward divinity (including his own), his concept of empire, his generalship, and his legacy for Greco-Roman antiquity. Particular attention is devoted to representations of Alexander through the ages, beginning during his own lifetime with the accounts of ancient writers, historians and others, down to novels and films of the present day. Ancient authors and documents are read in translation.
Democracy Ancient and Modern
- Instructor: Mazurek, Tadeusz (TMAZUREK)
- Primary Number: CLAS 30117-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30639
- Time: MW 2pm-3:15pm
HIST - old Core History; WKHI - new Core History
Democracy Ancient and Modern
- Instructor: Mazurek, Tadeusz (TMAZUREK)
- Primary Number: CLAS 30117-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30639
- Time: MW 2pm-3:15pm
This course examines the theory, practice, and development of ancient Greco-Roman democracy. Particular attention is devoted to comparing ancient with modern forms of self-rule. Among the special topics studied are the origins of Greek democracy, its advantages and disadvantages as a form of government, alternatives to democracy, and democracy as an abiding legacy of classical civilization for the modern world. Familiarity with ancient Greco-Roman history is recommended, but not required.
Politics of Public Policy
- Instructor: Ramirez, Ricardo (RRAMIRE5)
- Primary Number: HESB 43899
- CNST Number: X
- Time: MW 11am-12:15pm
ENST - Energy Studies
Politics of Public Policy
- Instructor: Ramirez, Ricardo (RRAMIRE5)
- Primary Number: HESB 43899
- CNST Number: X
- Time: MW 11am-12:15pm
In the United States, public policy has the potential to be a consequential mechanism to address the most vexing and important social and economic problems: inequality, poverty, mass incarceration, climate change and much more. But policies do not appear out of thin air. They are the product of complex political processes. Even after policies are made, political decisions determine how they are implemented and to what end. In order to evaluate or change policy, we must understand politics. That is the focus of this course. We begin with a review of theoretical approaches to conceptualizing and studying public policy. We then explore key policy actors (the President, interest groups, denizens etc.), as well as core aspects of policy design and implementation. Finally, we closely study contemporary policy arenas. Along the way, students will be challenged to grapple with the paradoxes of policy making and to envision pathways to substantive change. Father Hesburgh famously credited President Lyndon Johnson's commitment to civil rights with "changing the face of America." This class recognizes that dramatic policy change must consider the politics behind that change and politics seeking to maintain the status quo. This course fulfills the capstone requirement for the Hesburgh Program in Public Service.
From Rasputin to Putin
- Instructor: Lyandres, Semion (SLYANDRE)
- Primary Number: HIST 20355-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30227
- Time: MW 11:30am-12:20pm
HIST - old Core History; MESE - European Studies Course; WKHI - new Core History
From Rasputin to Putin
- Instructor: Lyandres, Semion (SLYANDRE)
- Primary Number: HIST 20355-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30227
- Time: MW 11:30am-12:20pm
This upper division lecture course examines some of the most important events, ideas, and personalities that shaped late Imperial, Soviet, and post-Soviet periods of Russian history during the last one hundred years: from the outbreak of the First World War and the Revolutions of 1905 and 1917 through the Great Terror of the 1930s, the experience of the Second World War and the emergence of the Soviet Empire, late Stalinism and post-Stalinist developed or mature socialism, the collapse of the communist rule and the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, as well as Russia's uneasy transition "out of Totalitarianism" and into Putin's authoritarianism during the first fourteen years of the twentieth-first century. The course is designed for history majors as well as for students in other disciplines with or without background in modern Russian and East European history.
The American Revolution
- Instructor: Carter, Katlyn (KCARTER8)
- Primary Number: HIST 20602-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30012
- Time: MW 12:50pm-1:40pm
HIST - old Core History; WKHI - new Core History
The American Revolution
- Instructor: Carter, Katlyn (KCARTER8)
- Primary Number: HIST 20602-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30012
- Time: MW 12:50pm-1:40pm
When speaking of the American Revolution, many writers reach for a comment made by John Adams in 1818 that, "[T]he Revolution was effected before the war commenced. The Revolution was in the minds and hearts of the people. . ." Whether this assertion is true historically or not, it still does not adequately describe what that revolution was. The American Revolution obviously had its political elements, primarily the formation of the United States. To reach its political goals, military means were necessary. Without a successful War for Independence, there would have been no revolution. To leave matters there, however, would be insufficient. A fuller understanding of the revolution would need to address how it affected the whole spectrum of American life. It would consider the revolution as a social movement that challenged the political and social hierarchies of the day. It would also ask how the revolution affected those who were not white males, especially women, slaves, and Native Americans. Without considering the possible negative implications of the revolution, any telling would be incomplete. This class will take up these challenges and attempt to make a full-orbed presentation of the events surrounding the American Revolution. It will introduce students both to elites and to those whom the popular narrative glosses over. It will attempt to count the losses, as well as the gains, which flowed from the move to independence from Britain. Finally, it will attempt to describe the many changes through this period, which resulted, not only in a new political nation, but in a new society and culture--changes that in varying degrees are still with us today and of which contemporary Americans are the inheritors.
Tudor England: Pol & Honor
- Instructor: Rapple, Rory (RRAPPLE)
- Primary Number: HIST 30410-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30604
- Time: MW 12:30pm-1:45pm
HIST - old Core History; MESE - European Studies Course; WKHI - new Core History
Tudor England: Pol & Honor
- Instructor: Rapple, Rory (RRAPPLE)
- Primary Number: HIST 30410-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30604
- Time: MW 12:30pm-1:45pm
The period from 1485 to 1603, often feted as something of a 'Golden Age' for England, saw that country undergo serious changes that challenged the traditional ways in which the nation conceived of itself. These included the break from Rome, the loss of England's foothold in France, and the unprecedented experience of monarchical rule by women. Each of these challenges demanded creative political responses and apologetic strategies harnessing intellectual resources from classical, Biblical, legal, chivalric and ecclesiastical sources. This course will examine these developments. It will also look at how the English, emerging from under the shadow of the internecine dynastic warfare of the fifteenth century, sought to preserve political stability and ensure a balance between continuity and change, and, furthermore, how individuals could use these unique circumstances to their own advantage.
Europe-Age Rev. & Nationalism
- Instructor: Martin, Alexander (AMARTI20)
- Primary Number: HIST 30477-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30254
- Time: MW 3:30pm-4:45pm
Europe-Age Rev. & Nationalism
- Instructor: Martin, Alexander (AMARTI20)
- Primary Number: HIST 30477-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30254
- Time: MW 3:30pm-4:45pm
Europe made a violent and dramatic entry into the modern age in the tumultuous decades from 1789 to 1871. The period opens with the French Revolution and closes with the unification of Germany and Italy. In between lie the revolutionary Reign of Terror in France, the Napoleonic Wars, the independence wars of Latin America, the revolutions of 1830 and 1848, the Industrial Revolution, and the invention of liberalism, conservatism, socialism, feminism, nationalism, democracy, atheism, and modern science. Europeans in 1789 still lived in a world that in many ways was similar to the 16th and 17th century; by 1871, the outlines of Europe in the 20th century were beginning to form. How this profound transformation occurred will be the subject of the course. 3.000 Credit hours
U.S. Civil War Era, 1848-1877
- Instructor: Przybyszewski, Linda (LPRZYBYS)
- Primary Number: HIST 30604-02
- CNST Number: CNST 30003
- Time: TTh 9:30am-10:45am
HIST - old Core History; WKHI - new Core History
U.S. Civil War Era, 1848-1877
- Instructor: Przybyszewski, Linda (LPRZYBYS)
- Primary Number: HIST 30604-02
- CNST Number: CNST 30003
- Time: TTh 9:30am-10:45am
Through intensive reading and writing students will explore the social and cultural history of America's most costly war. We will focus on various topics as they relate to the war: antebellum origins, religion, gender, Lincoln's reasons for waging war, dead bodies, freedmen's families, black soldiers, and the uses of war memory. This will not be a guns-and-generals-smell-the-smoke course, though knowledge of military matters can be helpful. We will ask and try to answer who really "won" and "lost" the war.
Lincoln, Slavery, & Civil War
- Instructor: Lundberg, Jake (JLUNDBE1)
- Primary Number: HIST 35671-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30032
- Time: TTh 3:30pm-4:45pm
Lincoln, Slavery, & Civil War
- Instructor: Lundberg, Jake (JLUNDBE1)
- Primary Number: HIST 35671-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30032
- Time: TTh 3:30pm-4:45pm
This course asks how we should narrate and understand the great ordeal of Civil War and emancipation. Reading both primary and secondary sources, it considers the Civil War era and life of Abraham Lincoln in light of the rise of abolition and antislavery politics; attitudes toward race, slavery, and labor; the political and social meanings of war and emancipation; the political and social challenge of reconstructing the nation amidst the tangled legacies of racial slavery and a destructive war.
Philosophy of Law
- Instructor: Warfield, Ted (TWARFIEL)
- Primary Number: PHIL 20408
- CNST Number: X
- Time: MW 11am-11:50am
PHI2 - old Core 2nd Philosophy (PHI2)
Philosophy of Law
- Instructor: Warfield, Ted (TWARFIEL)
- Primary Number: PHIL 20408
- CNST Number: X
- Time: MW 11am-11:50am
This course explores theoretical and practical issues arising in law. Topics will include some of the following: laws regulating speech; drug laws, the limits of the criminal sanction, and the debate about over-criminalization; self-defense; the foundations of criminal procedure. In class mid-term and short paper for each of the 3 class units. Regular attendance and participation in required Friday class discussion section.
Plato's Republic
- Instructor: Gamarra Jordan, Gonzalo (GJORDAN2)
- Primary Number: PHIL 20410
- CNST Number: x
- Time: TTh 12:30pm-1:45pm
Plato's Republic
- Instructor: Gamarra Jordan, Gonzalo (GJORDAN2)
- Primary Number: PHIL 20410
- CNST Number: x
- Time: TTh 12:30pm-1:45pm
An historically and philosophically informed close reading of one of the most important texts in the history of philosophy, Plato's Republic.
American Political Thought
- Instructor: Weithman, Paul (PWEITHMA)
- Primary Number: PHIL 30409
- CNST Number: X
- Time: MW 2pm-2:50pm
HIST - old Core History (HIST), PHI2 - old Core 2nd Philosophy (PHI2)
American Political Thought
- Instructor: Weithman, Paul (PWEITHMA)
- Primary Number: PHIL 30409
- CNST Number: X
- Time: MW 2pm-2:50pm
Coming to grips with American political thought is at once an historical and a philosophical task. Students in this course will take on that task under the guidance of one faculty member from the Department of History and one from the Department of Philosophy. The guiding questions of the course are: How have ideas about freedom, equality and the social contract played out in the history of American political thought? When have we realized those ideas and when have we failed? Do those ideas provide us adequate guidance? The exploration of American political thought will be divided into six periods: The Founding, the Civil War era, the late 19th-century, the New Deal to the 1960s, the 1960s to the 1990s, and the 1990s to the present. The course has no prerequisites, though students wishing to count it toward the Philosophy requirement must previously have taken "Introduction to Philosophy."
World Politics: Intro to Comp
- Instructor: McAdams III, A. James (AMCADAMS)
- Primary Number: POLS 10400-01
- CNST Number: CNST 20200
- Time: MWF 9:25am-10:15am
SOSC - old Core Social Science; WKSS - new Core Social Science
World Politics: Intro to Comp
- Instructor: McAdams III, A. James (AMCADAMS)
- Primary Number: POLS 10400-01
- CNST Number: CNST 20200
- Time: MWF 9:25am-10:15am
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.
American Politics
- Instructor: McCarthy, Angela (AMCCAR22)
- Primary Number: POLS 20100-01
- CNST Number: CNST 20002
- Time: MW 11:30am-12:20pm
SOSC - old Core Social Science; WKSS - new Core Social Science
American Politics
- Instructor: McCarthy, Angela (AMCCAR22)
- Primary Number: POLS 20100-01
- CNST Number: CNST 20002
- Time: MW 11:30am-12:20pm
This course surveys the basic institutions and practices of American politics. The goal of the course is to gain a more systematic understanding of American politics that will help you become better informed and more articulate. The course examines the institutional and constitutional framework of American politics and identifies the key ideas needed to understand politics today. The reading and writing assignments have been designed not only to inform you, but also to help develop your analytic and research skills. The themes of the course include the logic and consequences of the separation of powers, the build-in biases of institutions and procedures, the origins and consequence of political reforms, and recent changes in American politics in the 21st century. This semester we will emphasize the significance of the upcoming 2016 elections, and the course will include election-related assignments. Although the course counts toward the Political Science major and will prepare prospective majors for further study of American politics, its primary aim is to introduce students of all backgrounds and interests to the information, ideas, and academic skills that will enable them to understand American politics better and help them become more thoughtful and responsible citizens.
Political Theory
- Instructor: Deneen, Patrick (PDENEEN1)
- Primary Number: POLS 20600-01
- CNST Number: CNST 20602
- Time: MW 9:30am-10:45am
PHI2 - old Core 2nd Philosophy; WKSP - new Core 2nd Philosophy
Political Theory
- Instructor: Deneen, Patrick (PDENEEN1)
- Primary Number: POLS 20600-01
- CNST Number: CNST 20602
- Time: MW 9:30am-10:45am
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.
Media & Politics
- Instructor: Davis, Darren (DDAVIS7)
- Primary Number: POLS 30024-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30431
- Time: TTh 9:30am-10:45am
Media & Politics
- Instructor: Davis, Darren (DDAVIS7)
- Primary Number: POLS 30024-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30431
- Time: TTh 9:30am-10:45am
Although the mass media is not formally part of the U.S. government, it is arguably the most powerful institution shaping public attitudes, creating and producing information, and communicating political information to individual citizens. Almost all exposure to politics comes not from direct experience but from mediated stories. And, with the rise of the Internet, the growth of 24-hour cable news, and the decline of the "Big Three" television networks has created, a more diffuse media environment has been created. The primary purpose of this course is to analyze the role of the media in American politics and its relationship with the public, government, and candidates for office in a democratic society.
Religion in American Politics
- Instructor: Campbell, David (DCAMPBE4)
- Primary Number: POLS 30028-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30641
- Time: MW 2pm-3:15pm
Religion in American Politics
- Instructor: Campbell, David (DCAMPBE4)
- Primary Number: POLS 30028-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30641
- Time: MW 2pm-3:15pm
This course will examine the many ways in which religion has been fused into American politics. In doing so, we will also explore the rising tide of secularism in the United States, which many argue has resulted from a backlash to the fusion of religion and conservative politics. Then it will turn to trying to solve the puzzle of America’s religious pluralism—if religion is so politically divisive, why are Americans so accepting of (most) religions other than their own? What explains the exceptions to that acceptance? What are the implications of a secularizing America for religious pluralism?
Rise&Fall Democrac&Dictatorshp
- Instructor: Mainwaring, Scott (SMAINWAR)
- Primary Number: POLS 30415-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30612
- Time: MW 11am-12:15pm
Rise&Fall Democrac&Dictatorshp
- Instructor: Mainwaring, Scott (SMAINWAR)
- Primary Number: POLS 30415-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30612
- Time: MW 11am-12:15pm
Winston Churchill famously said in a speech in the House of Commons in 1947, "Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried." For generations, social scientists have studied what makes democracy emerge and then survive or break down. And because some dictatorships have huge consequences for their own populations and the world, social scientists have also devoted considerable attention to analyzing the emergence, survival, and breakdown of authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. This course will examine these issues. The first part of the course will examine different theoretical approaches to understanding why democracies and dictatorships emerge and then survive or fall. The second and longer part will focus on the emergence, survival, and fall of democracies and dictatorships in Europe and Latin America, mostly in the 20th century.
European Politics
- Instructor: Gould, Andy (AGOULD)
- Primary Number: POLS 30421-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30203
- Time: TTh 9:30am-10:45am
European Politics
- Instructor: Gould, Andy (AGOULD)
- Primary Number: POLS 30421-01
- CNST Number: CNST 30203
- Time: TTh 9:30am-10:45am
In this course on European politics we will examine the literature on three major issues: regional integration, origins of modern political authority, and industrial political economy. We will seek to understand the origin, current functioning, and possible futures for key European institutions, including the EU, nation-states, social provision, unions, and political parties. Readings on the European Union, monetary politics, Germany, France, and Spain will be drawn from both scholarly sources and contemporary analyses of political events.
JR Seminar: Truth, Politics, and Democracy
- Instructor: McAdams III, A. James (AMCADAMS)
- Primary Number: POLS 43002-01
- CNST Number: X
- Time: MW 11am-12:15pm
WRIT - Writing Intensive (WRIT)
JR Seminar: Truth, Politics, and Democracy
- Instructor: McAdams III, A. James (AMCADAMS)
- Primary Number: POLS 43002-01
- CNST Number: X
- Time: MW 11am-12:15pm
What is the relationship between truth and politics? Why should truth matter in a liberal democracy? Not very long ago, these questions would have seemed odd. Yet, we now live in a world in which truth seems up for grabs and people’s feelings are more important than scientific knowledge and facts. We are also living in a world in which liberal democratic values, norms, and institutions are in crisis. Politicians of all political persuasions act as though staying in power is more important than serving the public good. Hence, they become masters of Untruthtelling. It’s no surprise that citizens no longer trust their leaders and are susceptible to manipulation by conspiracy theorists, predatory opinionmakers, and demagogues. What a mess! In this seminar, we will consider numerous aspects of the uneasy relationship between truth and liberal democracy in our troubled times. Topics will include the philosophical underpinnings of truth-telling; the relationship between truth and justice; “fake news,” “alternative facts,” and political lies; American exceptionalism, “post-truth,” and the denial of facts and science; the benefits and dangers of social media; strategies for restoring popular confidence in truth; and what it means to “live within the truth.” We will consider the perspectives of a variety of thinkers and political actors and pundits, both present and past, including John Stuart Mill, Machiavelli, Vaclav Havel, Mark Zuckerberg, Tucker Carlson, and, yes, Donald Trump.
JR Seminar: The greatest War story ever told: Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War
- Instructor: Desch, Michael (MDESCH)
- Primary Number: POLS 43002-05
- CNST Number: X
- Time: MW 11am-12:15pm
WRIT - Writing Intensive (WRIT)
JR Seminar: The greatest War story ever told: Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War
- Instructor: Desch, Michael (MDESCH)
- Primary Number: POLS 43002-05
- CNST Number: X
- Time: MW 11am-12:15pm
Writing seminars are devoted to a specialized topic. These seminars give students a chance to take an advanced course in a seminar setting, with an emphasis on research skills and discussion. The individual topic of each seminar can be found on the political science web page listing of course descriptions. The course will fulfill a writing seminar requirement for the major and is restricted to junior political science majors only, but will be opened to senior political science majors after the 2nd day of junior course registration.
JR Seminar: Democracy and Religion
- Instructor: Gould, Andy (AGOULD)
- Primary Number: POLS 43002-06
- CNST Number: X
- Time: TTh 11am-12:15pm
WRIT - Writing Intensive (WRIT)
JR Seminar: Democracy and Religion
- Instructor: Gould, Andy (AGOULD)
- Primary Number: POLS 43002-06
- CNST Number: X
- Time: TTh 11am-12:15pm
Writing seminars are devoted to a specialized topic. These seminars give students a chance to take an advanced course in a seminar setting, with an emphasis on research skills and discussion. The individual topic of each seminar can be found on the political science web page listing of course descriptions. The course will fulfill a writing seminar requirement for the major and is restricted to junior political science majors only, but will be opened to senior political science majors after the 2nd day of junior course registration.
SR Seminar: American Citizenship in the 21st Century
- Instructor: Cortez, David (DCORTEZ)
- Primary Number: POLS 53002 04
- CNST Number: X
- Time: TTh 11am-12:15pm
WRIT - Writing Intensive (WRIT)
SR Seminar: American Citizenship in the 21st Century
- Instructor: Cortez, David (DCORTEZ)
- Primary Number: POLS 53002 04
- CNST Number: X
- Time: TTh 11am-12:15pm
Writing seminars are devoted to a specialized topic. These seminars give students a chance to take an advanced course in a seminar setting, with an emphasis on research skills and discussion. The individual topic of each seminar can be found on the political science web page listing of course descriptions. The course will fulfill a writing seminar requirement for the major and is restricted to senior political science majors only, but will be opened to junior political science majors beginning the 1st day of junior course registration.
Introduction to Criminology
- Instructor: Thomas, Mim (MTHOMA13)
- Primary Number: SOC 20732-01
- CNST Number: CNST 20403
- Time: MW 5:05pm-6:20pm
SOSC - old Core Social Science; WKSS - new Core Social Science
Introduction to Criminology
- Instructor: Thomas, Mim (MTHOMA13)
- Primary Number: SOC 20732-01
- CNST Number: CNST 20403
- Time: MW 5:05pm-6:20pm
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?"
God & Slavery in the Americas
- Instructor: Lantigua, David (DLANTIGU)
- Primary Number: THEO 20674
- CNST Number: X
- Time: TTh 9:30am-10:45am
CSTE - CST Elective THE2 - old Core Dvlpmnt Theo WKDT-new Core Devel. Theology
God & Slavery in the Americas
- Instructor: Lantigua, David (DLANTIGU)
- Primary Number: THEO 20674
- CNST Number: X
- Time: TTh 9:30am-10:45am
More than a century before African slaves were trafficked to the Virginia colony in 1619, Christopher Columbus transported captured indigenous peoples to Spain from the New World. The dispossession and enslavement of non-Europeans in the colonization of the Americas was justified by Christians but also condemned by Christians with different economic and political interests. This development course in theology introduces students to the challenging intersection of faith, slavery, and freedom by exploring key figures, events, and movements that have shaped the complex historical legacy of Christianity in the Americas, a hemispheric past that remains ever bound together. In addition to Christianity's role in colonial expansion and racial ideology, the course especially considers how lived faith in God provided a catalyst for the empowerment and resistance of the oppressed and their advocates in shared struggles to attain greater social justice, racial equality, and political autonomy. From the “Protector of the Indians” Bartolomé de las Casas to César Chávez, and the “Black Moses” Harriet Tubman to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the course explores these and other extraordinary figures of hope in the Americas who gave their lives to protest social violence and promote authentic expressions of faith. In the course, students will engage this turbulent past through a contextual approach to theology that examines idolatry, migration, land, liberty, poverty, social sin, nonviolence, and solidarity as normative categories relevant for addressing contemporary social crises afflicting our nation and earth.
Liberal Education&Citizenship
- Instructor: Foster, Luke (LFOSTER2)
- Primary Number: X
- CNST Number: CNST 30702
- Time: MW 12:30pm-1:45pm
Liberal Education&Citizenship
- Instructor: Foster, Luke (LFOSTER2)
- Primary Number: X
- CNST Number: CNST 30702
- Time: MW 12:30pm-1:45pm
This class aims to understand liberal education—the ancient idea that learning is valuable for its own sake—and its relation to the human capacity to live freely. Can the pursuit of the truth make us better citizens, improve our character, or perhaps even save our souls? Or does civic piety only trap us deeper in the Cave? As students and teachers of both the liberal arts and politics, these are existential questions. Once liberal education was thought the characteristic marker of the leisured, ruling class, making it aristocratic, not democratic. To better understand whether liberal education offers something that the American democratic republic needs, this class traces its history: developing from Plato and Aristotle to the medieval university and the Renaissance humanists, it undergoes a profound critique in the early modern period and finds an uneasy home in the modern Western research university. While this model has come under repeated attack, it remains prestigious and envied across the world. Along the way, we will ask whether the university is necessarily secular or religious and consider Notre Dame’s Catholic mission. In the context of today’s opposition between populists and elitists, can elite graduates serve the common good?
Comparative Constitutionalism
- Instructor: Bambrick, Christina (CBAMBRIC)
- Primary Number: X
- CNST Number: CNST 50200
- Time: TTh 2:00pm-3:15pm
Comparative Constitutionalism
- Instructor: Bambrick, Christina (CBAMBRIC)
- Primary Number: X
- CNST Number: CNST 50200
- Time: TTh 2:00pm-3:15pm
The rationale for studying constitutions in comparative context is that we learn more when we put into dialogue diverse perspectives. Indeed, the most important debates in constitutionalism recur across time and place. Although dozens of countries have confronted similar questions, they very often come to different answers. This course explores different instances of constitutionalism, connecting them to the broader political cultures from which they emerge. We examine the political values and moral theories that inform such concepts as liberty, equality, and community within various constitutional traditions. We will debate such elusive concepts as constitutional identity and amendment. In addition to these big theoretical questions, we explore the similarities and differences of institutional arrangements across systems, including understandings of judicial review, the role of constitutional courts, and varying approaches to constitutional maintenance and change. Ultimately, this course aims at greater understanding of constitutionalism in general and the particular cases of it that we study. Moreover, by studying constitutions in comparative context we gain insights into American constitutional understandings, as well.
Criminal Constitutional Law and Procedure
- Instructor: Dailey, William (WDAILEY1)
- Primary Number: X
- CNST Number: CNST 30034
- Time: TTh 9:30am-10:45am
X
Criminal Constitutional Law and Procedure
- Instructor: Dailey, William (WDAILEY1)
- Primary Number: X
- CNST Number: CNST 30034
- Time: TTh 9:30am-10:45am
This proposed course would cover a lot of constitutional terrain involved in the area of criminal justice, from investigative steps through trial and sentencing. It would cover significant issues in 4 th , 5 th , 6 th and 8 th Amendment law as well as situating them within broader philosophical concerns about justice, Catholic Social Teaching, and the questions of race.
The Kennedy Presidency, its Aftermath, and the Rise of the Security State
- Instructor: Iffland, Craig (CIFFLAND)
- Primary Number: X
- CNST Number: CNST 30033
- Time: Th 3:30pm-6pm
The Kennedy Presidency, its Aftermath, and the Rise of the Security State
- Instructor: Iffland, Craig (CIFFLAND)
- Primary Number: X
- CNST Number: CNST 30033
- Time: Th 3:30pm-6pm
Sixty years ago, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, in broad daylight, in the presence of hundreds of witnesses, while traveling in his presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in downtown Dallas, Texas. On that day, a historic presidency came to a tragic end. Two days later, the alleged assassin (Lee Harvey Oswald) was murdered by a Dallas nightclub owner (Jack Ruby) while being escorted from his cell by a host of police officers, raising the possibility of a conspiracy. The official investigation into Kennedy’s assassination (“The Warren Report”) was met with fierce public skepticism, precipitating numerous Congressional investigations that revealed extensive covert operations (both in the US and abroad) conducted by the Central Intelligence Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that would have been relevant to those charged with investigating the assassination. When combined with an already heightened public skepticism of the assassination itself, these revelations proved to be an enduring catalyst for a slow and steady decline of public trust in government that continues unabated to our present day. In this course, we examine the origins and rise of the “security state” in the United States, its role in significant events in the Kennedy presidency, including the investigation into his assassination, and the extent of its power both before and after Kennedy’s presidency. Ultimately, students will be asked whether and to what extent the demands of national security conflict with the constitutional prerogatives of a representative democracy.
Core Texts in Const Gov II
- Instructor: Munoz, Vincent (VMUNOZ)
- Primary Number: X
- CNST Number: CNST 30701
- Time: MW 9:30am-10:45am
Core Texts in Const Gov II
- Instructor: Munoz, Vincent (VMUNOZ)
- Primary Number: X
- CNST Number: CNST 30701
- Time: MW 9:30am-10:45am
The “Core Texts in Citizenship & Constitutional Government'' course sequence offers a select group of students an opportunity to study some of the seminal texts in history and philosophy of constitutional government. Students will study classical texts with Prof. Patrick Deneen and modern texts with Prof. Vincent Phillip Muñoz, including: Plato, Aristotle, the Bible, Augustine, Aquinas, Locke, Rousseau, Tocqueville, and others. Through small seminars, students will engage in a year-long conversation about justice, equality, liberty, and the rule of law. The sequence is designed for students looking for and willing to engage in deep, deliberate, and careful study of core texts of Western constitutionalism.