Subject Area: Politics

Constitutionalism is a fundamental feature of politics in the West. Constitutions are both legal and philosophical artifacts that structure the political life and power arrangements of peoples. The study of the development of constitutionalism illustrates political science in action, showing the ways in which philosophy and law come together both to call into question and to establish on new grounds the foundations of political order. The connection between philosophy, law, political power and revolution forms the guiding thread of the course. The course explores the origins of constitutional thinking in ancient and medieval political philosophy. It then identifies the innovations brought about in constitutionalism through the U.S. and French Revolutions, leading to the examination of the current attempts to develop a global constitutionalism based on universal human rights.