GOVT 3001

Constitutional Law and U.S. Politics

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2015-2016.

Constitutional Law provides the setting for some of the most contentious disputes in American life. Decisions by the Supreme Court about the meaning of the Constitution 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.  Supreme Court decisions are also enormously potent symbols, wielded like weapons in contests about what it means to be an American.  People who have never read Brown v Board of Education or Roe v Wade still think these decisions matter a great deal, even if they cannot tell you exactly what they say.  This course will examine Constitutional Law both as a body of rules and a contested symbol in American life.

When Offered Fall.

Distribution Category (CA-AS)
Course Subfield (AM)

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