SMNR: Originalism & Its Critics

Course Information

Registration Information

Meeting Times

Day Time Location
WED 3:45 - 5:35 pm JON 5.206

Evaluation Method

Type Date Time Location
None

Description

This writing seminar will examine originalism as a theory (or group of theories) of constitutional interpretation. Questions to be explored include: What does originalism maintain? Is there a central thesis that all or virtually all varieties of originalism endorse? What arguments do originalists provide for the theses that they endorse? Are these arguments persuasive? What is the interpretation/construction distinction that many “new originalists” invoke? What are the alternatives to originalist theories of constitutional interpretation, and what difficulties or challenges do they confront? How, if at all, do theories of constitutional interpretation depend upon or relate to jurisprudential theories of the determinants of the content of law? The seminar should be of value to all students interested in contemporary scholarly debates over constitutional interpretation.

Textbooks ( * denotes required )

No materials required

Instructors

Headshot of Berman, Mitchell N. Berman, Mitchell N.
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