The Constitution Goes to College

Five Constitutional Ideas That Have Shaped the American University

Nonfiction, Reference & Language, Law, Constitutional
Cover of the book The Constitution Goes to College by Rodney A. Smolla, NYU Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Rodney A. Smolla ISBN: 9780814783788
Publisher: NYU Press Publication: April 11, 2011
Imprint: NYU Press Language: English
Author: Rodney A. Smolla
ISBN: 9780814783788
Publisher: NYU Press
Publication: April 11, 2011
Imprint: NYU Press
Language: English

American college campuses, where ideas are freely exchanged, contested, and above all uncensored, are historical hotbeds of political and social turmoil. In the past decade alone, the media has carefully tracked the controversy surrounding the speech of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at Columbia, the massacres at Virginia Tech, the dismissal of Harvard’s President Lawrence Summers, and the lacrosse team rape case at Duke, among others. No matter what the event, the conflicts that arise on our campuses can be viewed in terms of constitutional principles, which either control or influence outcomes of these events. In turn, constitutional principles are frequently shaped and forged by campus culture, creating a symbiotic relationship in which constitutional values influence the nature of universities, which themselves influence the nature of our constitutional values.

In The Constitution Goes to College, Rodney A. Smolla—a former dean and current university president who is an expert on the First Amendment—deftly uses the American university as a lens through which to view the Constitution in action. Drawing on landmark cases and conflicts played out on college campuses, Smolla demonstrates how five key constitutional ideas—the living Constitution, the division between public and private spheres, the distinction between rights and privileges, ordered liberty, and equality—are not only fiercely contested on college campuses, but also dominate the shape and identity of American university life.

Ultimately, Smolla compellingly demonstrates that the American college community, like the Constitution, is orderly and hierarchical yet intellectually free and open, a microcosm where these constitutional dichotomies play out with heightened intensity.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

American college campuses, where ideas are freely exchanged, contested, and above all uncensored, are historical hotbeds of political and social turmoil. In the past decade alone, the media has carefully tracked the controversy surrounding the speech of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at Columbia, the massacres at Virginia Tech, the dismissal of Harvard’s President Lawrence Summers, and the lacrosse team rape case at Duke, among others. No matter what the event, the conflicts that arise on our campuses can be viewed in terms of constitutional principles, which either control or influence outcomes of these events. In turn, constitutional principles are frequently shaped and forged by campus culture, creating a symbiotic relationship in which constitutional values influence the nature of universities, which themselves influence the nature of our constitutional values.

In The Constitution Goes to College, Rodney A. Smolla—a former dean and current university president who is an expert on the First Amendment—deftly uses the American university as a lens through which to view the Constitution in action. Drawing on landmark cases and conflicts played out on college campuses, Smolla demonstrates how five key constitutional ideas—the living Constitution, the division between public and private spheres, the distinction between rights and privileges, ordered liberty, and equality—are not only fiercely contested on college campuses, but also dominate the shape and identity of American university life.

Ultimately, Smolla compellingly demonstrates that the American college community, like the Constitution, is orderly and hierarchical yet intellectually free and open, a microcosm where these constitutional dichotomies play out with heightened intensity.

More books from NYU Press

Cover of the book Queer Words, Queer Images by Rodney A. Smolla
Cover of the book All Together Different by Rodney A. Smolla
Cover of the book Blood and Fire by Rodney A. Smolla
Cover of the book Women in New Religions by Rodney A. Smolla
Cover of the book Laying Down the Law by Rodney A. Smolla
Cover of the book Papa's Baby by Rodney A. Smolla
Cover of the book The Epistle of Forgiveness by Rodney A. Smolla
Cover of the book Mission to the Volga by Rodney A. Smolla
Cover of the book To Serve and Protect by Rodney A. Smolla
Cover of the book Racial Asymmetries by Rodney A. Smolla
Cover of the book The Law as it Could Be by Rodney A. Smolla
Cover of the book Does the Law Morally Bind the Poor? by Rodney A. Smolla
Cover of the book The Urban Church Imagined by Rodney A. Smolla
Cover of the book Masculinities and the Law by Rodney A. Smolla
Cover of the book Intersexuality and the Law by Rodney A. Smolla
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy