Course Section | Columbia Law School

Section Description Provided by Instructor

An advanced constitutional law course focusing intently on the Constitution itself (as distinct from the case law interpreting it, sometimes quite loosely). Thus, we shall journey through the supreme law of our land article by article and amendment by amendment, from start to finish. The basic textbook for the class will be Amar, America's Constitution: A Biography (2005). Each month, every student will required to post/circulate at least one short item (between 300 and 1500 words) in response to the assigned reading and in anticipation of class discussion. At the end of the semester, each student will be expected to produce a 6,500-8,000 word paper on some particular constitutional clause (or set of clauses) of the student's choice. Major Writing Credit and Minor Writing Credit are available upon consultation with the instructor.