To commemorate the upcoming 250th anniversary of both the Declaration of Independence and Adam Smith’s An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, the University of Notre Dame’s Center for Citizenship & Constitutional Government (CCCG) has partnered with the Mendoza College of Business to launch an inaugural one-credit course: “1776: The Ideas that Made the Modern World.”
The course, open to all Notre Dame students, alumni, and the general public, represents a unique collaboration between two of the University’s leading scholars: Vincent Philip Muñoz, Professor of Political Science and Director of the CCCG, and James Otteson, Professor of Business Ethics and Concurrent Professor of Political Science. Their vision is rooted in a simple but profound philosophy: students should engage directly with foundational texts rather than hearing about them second-hand. By following the successful "foundational" model of popular Notre Dame courses on St. Augustine or C.S. Lewis, Muñoz and Otteson aim to provide a semester-long deep dive into the pillars of Western thought.
This commitment to primary sources allows the professors to challenge modern misconceptions. For instance, while many view Adam Smith solely as the “father of capitalism,” Professor Otteson emphasizes that Smith’s motivations were deeply moral, focused on the "least among us" and the imperative to lift people out of poverty. By pairing Smith’s moral philosophy with a rigorous study of the Declaration of Independence—and later contrasting both with the writings of Karl Marx—the course explores diverse approaches to political economy. Ultimately, the goal is to show how these foundational thinkers, though different in method, all aimed to help individuals lead lives of dignity and prosperity. As Muñoz notes, “Everyone who wants to learn about the Declaration of Independence should have the opportunity to do so,” a sentiment that underscores the University’s decision to welcome the public into this academic conversation.
Otteson wants students to move past the common suspicions surrounding Smith. “I want people to learn something about that book beyond what they might have heard others say about it before,” he said. Despite being 250 years old, the questions posed in 1776 remain urgent. Otteson argues that Smith saw himself as describing universal and enduring features of human nature. “The human condition has not changed. Human beings are human beings,” Otteson explained. “We still have a scarcity of resources. People still have desires that are not met. And today we are still trying to answer the same questions that Smith posed in 1776.”
The course is a rare offering in the modern university landscape. While the Declaration of Independence is frequently taught, Smith’s foundational arguments for markets, trade, and the rule of law are often absent from modern economics and business curricula. “We are the inheritors of these ideas,” Otteson notes. “We should know where they came from and why they were articulated in the first place.” Looking toward the future, Otteson hopes this course is only the beginning. He envisions a series of eight foundational courses that undergraduates could take over four years, creating a "shared intellectual corpus" among students of all disciplines. He believes faculty should constantly ask what a graduate of the university should know before leaving, focusing on the creation of an "informed soul."
Muñoz emphasizes that the course reflects the deeper mission of the University itself. “At its best, a Notre Dame education invites students to wrestle with the ideas that have shaped our world and to consider their responsibilities as citizens in light of them,” he said. “This course is an opportunity to recover those conversations and to form students not only in knowledge, but in judgment.”
“A place like Notre Dame is exactly the place we should have a class like this,” Otteson concludes. “It may be that if we develop this into a program, we might be able to serve as a model for other universities. We can be leaders.”
The course benefits students on a fundamental level of citizenship, regardless of their background or plan of study. Amanda Pertierra, an Elementary Education instructor at Holy Cross College who has followed along with the course this semester, remarked, “I’ve found that the deeper you go into the Framers’ texts, the more nuanced your grasp of our current moment becomes.” Pertierra continued, “The past refracts into the present and generally leaves me with a sense of awe towards the American experiment, even as it remains a work in progress.”
First-year Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering student and Tocqueville Fellow Arav Fernandes reflected on how the course informs his commitments as an Air Force ROTC cadet: “1776 has been important for me to understand what it is I will be fighting for, both in the military and civilian life.” Fernandes says, "While it is challenging to encapsulate the vastly pluralistic histories of the American people, the course is intentionally and skillfully nuanced in tying them together and presenting them as undeniably American.”