Presidential Leadership, Executive Power & Constitutional Change

Although formally described as one of three constitutional branches of government, over time American presidents have become especially influential in making constitutional law within their sphere of action, as well as shaping the development of powers and rights in others’ spheres of action. In exposing students to writings from political science, history, law, and sociology, this interdisciplinary seminar has several objectives. First, students will learn how to recognize when conditions are favorable for modern presidents to meaningfully alter the substance of constitutional law, statutory law, and individual rights, along with institutional arrangements within the administrative state. Second, students will explore the social conditions—within bureaucracies and society as a whole—that must prevail for an administration to make legal transformation a priority. Third, students will ponder what constraints exist on presidentially-led projects of major legal change, whether they are effective, and whether new constraints would be wise. Fourth, students will learn how to think more deeply about questions of legality—constitutional and otherwise—given the reality of significant discretion and degree of actual historical change. Grading will be based primarily on three papers of roughly 2,500 words each (60%), as well classroom participation (40%). UPPER-CLASS WRITING REQUIREMENT: With the instructor’s permission, a single research paper (6,000 words) can be written in lieu of the short papers to satisfy the requirement. **A student who fails to attend the initial meeting of a seminar, or to obtain permission to be absent from either the instructor or the Registrar, may be administratively dropped from the seminar. Students who are on a wait list for a seminar are required to attend the first seminar meeting to be considered for enrollment.