This course will focus on problems and decisions that arise in the process of drafting new constitutions, ranging from the process by which constitutions are drafted in the first place to the specific decisions about what to put into the constitutions. The course will be highly comparative, looking at the United States Constitution, various constitutions of the 50 American states, and a variety of foreign constitutions. Visiting Professor Victor Ferreres will join in the teaching of the course during his time at UT (before he has to return to Barcelona). Given the nature of the subject, there will be almost no judicial opinions to read or analyze; instead, many of the readings will be drawn from political science.
This is a course, not a seminar, so it is anticipated that most students will be evaluated on the basis of a final examination. However, if a student does wish to write a paper in lieu of the final, that is a possibility.
Textbooks ( * denotes required )
Framed: America's 51 Constitutions....
*
Levinson
Oxford U. Press
,
edition: pb
ISBN: 978-0-19-932524-5
The The American State Constitutional Tradition
*
Dinan
U. Kansas Press
,
edition: pb
ISBN: 978-0-7006-1689-3,
PRESIDENTIALISM, PARLIAMENTARIANISM, AND DEMOCRACY
*
Chiebub
Cambridge U. Press
,
edition: pb
ISBN: 9780521542449
Levinson, Sanford V. 
Ferreres, Victor