The U.S. Constitution: Interpretation and History
OpenLecture—Spring
This lecture course examines how the structure of our government and the guarantees of our liberties have been shaped by history, political philosophy, and experience. We will study the Constitution, related documents, and Supreme Court decisions interpreting the Constitution. The course should be considered by students interested in American history, government, politics, and intellectual analysis. Lectures will combine presentations by the instructor, discussion, and Socratic dialogue to develop analytical skills. Grades will be based on open-book midterm and final exams in which students will be asked to write a Supreme Court opinion resolving a constitutional issue.
History courses
- Art and the Sacred in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages
- Cinema and Society in the Middle East and North Africa
- First-Year Studies: Gender and the Culture of War in US History, 1775-1975
- First-Year Studies: “In the Tradition”: An Introduction to African American History and Black Cultural Renaissance
- First-Year Studies: The Sixties
- France and Germany in the 20th Century
- Gender, Education, and Opportunity in Africa
- Harvest: A Social History of Agriculture in Latin America
- Hunger and Excess: Histories, Politics, and Cultures of Food
- Ideas of Africa: Africa Writes Back
- Imperial Russia: Power and Society
- In/Migration: How Immigrants and Migrants Changed New York City From a Small Trading Post to an Emerging World Metropolis
- Leisure and Danger
- “Mystic Chords of Memory”: Myth, Tradition, and the Making of American Nationalism
- Public Stories, Private Lives: Methods of Oral History
- Reform and Revolution in the Contemporary Middle East and North Africa
- Revolution and Counterrevolution in Central America
- Romantic Europe
- Sickness and Health in Africa
- The American Revolution and Its Legacy: From British to American Nationalism
- The Black Arts Renaissance & American Culture: Rethinking Urban and Ethnic History in America
- The Cold War In History and Film
- The Contemporary Practice of International Law
- The Idea of a Balance of Power
- The U.S. Constitution: Interpretation and History
- Tudor England: Politics, Gender, and Religion. An Introductory Workshop in Doing History
Discover magazine interviews Dr. W. Ian Lipkin '74, "the world's most celebrated virus hunter" 
President Karen Lawrence and Meghan Roguschka '12 discuss the value of an SLC education on CBS' Sunday Morning 
