Constitutional Law I (332-0-1)

Instructors

Joanna Grisinger
847 491 3987
620 Lincoln St #201
I am an American legal historian who works on the modern administrative state. At Northwestern, I teach courses on law and society, U.S. legal history, gender and the law, and constitutional law. My first book, The Unwieldy American State: Administrative Politics since the New Deal (Cambridge, 2012), examines the politics of administrative law reform; I am currently working on a project about the relationship between administrative agencies and social movements.

Meeting Info

Harris Hall L06: Tues, Thurs 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

This course investigates the structure of American government as laid out by the Constitution and defined by the Supreme Court. It will also examine the many controversies over what, exactly, the Constitution means, who gets to decide, and how.

(also taught as POLI SCI 332)

Learning Objectives

By the end of the quarter, students should be able to:

-recognize and articulate the relationship between the Supreme Court's constitutional decisionmaking; broader social, political, and economic factors; and the behaviors of individuals and groups (especially lawyers and Supreme Court justices);
-be able to evaluate and analyze Supreme Court decisions through careful evaluation of their major assertions, assumptions, evidential basis, and explanatory utility;
-understand and explain the evolution of constitutional doctrine in Supreme Court decisionmaking over time, in order to observe, describe, understand, and (maybe) predict the Supreme Court's behavior;
-reflect on how theories about judicial decisionmaking can help us understand (and obscure) the Supreme Court's approach to contemporary social issues like judicial review, the powers of Congress and the executive branch, and the relationship between the federal government and the states.

Teaching Method

Lecture; discussion

Evaluation Method

active and informed participation in class; short issue-spotting exercise; take home midterm exam; take home final exam

Class Materials (Required)

Coursepack will be provided on Canvas at no cost.

Class Attributes

Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl
Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area