The U.S. Constitution and its Critics

Catalog description

The U.S. Constitution is the foundation of the American legal and political system. It is the oldest national constitution still in effect, and it has influenced many subsequent constitutions around the world. According to its admirers, it has played a central role in the rise of the United States as a global superpower. Its critics, on the other hand, claim that it has produced an increasingly unequal society and a dysfunctional political system. This course will help students to better understand the basic structure of the U.S. Constitution, its history, and the political debates to which it has given rise. We will begin by examining the arguments raised for and against the Constitution when it was first proposed in the eighteenth century, before turning to the study of several contemporary political challenges in which constitutional questions play a prominent role, namely those concerning race, free speech, and the power of the American presidency. 001662