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Constitutional Law II: Civil and Political Rights (333-0-20)

Instructors

Joanna Grisinger
847 491 3987
620 Lincoln St #201

Meeting Info

2001 Sheridan GPC GN210: Tues, Thurs 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

This course investigates the civil rights and civil liberties protected by the Constitution and defined by the U.S. Supreme Court—including privacy, equality, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion. In doing so, we will examine what, exactly, the Constitution means, who gets to decide, and how. Please note: Constitutional Law I (LEGAL_ST/POLI_SCI 332) is not a prerequisite for this class.

Registration Requirements

Attendance at first class required. Taught with POLI SCI 333; may not receive credit for both courses. Prerequisite: POLI_SCI 220-0 or POLI_SCI 230-0 Please note: Constitutional Law I is not a prerequisite for this class. They can be taken in any order.

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 privacy, equality, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion;
  • be able to explain the Supreme Court's important role in constructing and enforcing formal categories of (and protections regarding) ability, age, education, ethnicity, gender, nationality, race, religion, politics, sexuality, and social status, often in overlapping and intersecting ways; and
  • understand the Supreme Court's role in defining the formal legal parameters of racism and anti-racism, power and resistance, justice and injustice, equality and inequality, agency and subjection, and belonging and subjection in ways that shape both its own decisionmaking and broader political and social understandings of these concepts.

Teaching Method

lecture and in-class discussion

Evaluation Method

Participation; short writing prompts; in-person midterm exam; in-person final exam

Class Materials (Required)

This course will have required books/other materials. coursepack available through Quartet Copies

Class Attributes

Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl
U.S. Perspectives on Power, Justice, and Equity
SoC Individual and Social Behavior Distro

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Prerequisite: POLI_SCI 220-0 or POLI_SCI 230-0. Antirequisite: Student may not receive credit for both LEGAL_ST 331-0 and POLI_SCI 331-0.