GOVT 3001

Constitutional Law and U.S. Politics

Course Description

Course information provided by the 2016-2017 Catalog.

Same-sex marriage.  Reproductive rights.  Campaign finance.  Universal health care.  Separate but equal.  Capital punishment.  Affirmative action.  Disputes over the meaning of the Constitution have been some of the most contentious in American life.  Constitutional interpretations by the Supreme Court can change the country in dramatic ways.  But to think of constitutional law as simply a body of rules misses at least half the picture.  Constitutional law takes shape in an eternally changing political, economic, and intellectual context.  To make matters more complex, law influences the context just as the context influences the law.  This class will examine the development of American constitutional law in its constantly changing environment.

Distribution Category (CA-AS)

When Offered Fall.

Course Subfield (AM)

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