One way to mark the beginning of the twenty first century is to note the extraordinary amount of constitution making going on around the world. The heightened activity surrounding recent fundamental restructurings of polities has led to a renewed interest in the old subject of constitutionalism. This course will explore alternative traditions of constitutionalism, connecting them to the broader political cultures from which they have emerged. It will examine the various shades of meaning underlying political values and moral theories that inform concepts-for example, liberty, autonomy, equality, and community-within various constitutional traditions. It will seek to account for the similarities and differences within the constitutional ideas and arrangements of the nations under consideration. It will also look closely at the ways in which foreign constitutional experience might illuminate and possibly improve American constitutional understandings. This will be done through a study of such issues as abortion, hate speech, religious freedom, judicial review, federalism, and constitutional change. Some of the countries receiving close examination will be Germany, Ireland, Canada, India, and Israel.
Format: seminar. Requirements: a final exam and two short to medium length papers. Prerequisites: Political Science 219 (Constitutional Law I) or Political Science 216 (Constitutional Law II), or Political Science 338 (American Legal Philosophy). Enrollment limit: 15. Comparative Politics Subfield