Constitutional Discourse: Teaching the Constitution, the Constitution as Teacher--A Panel Discussion in Honor of Leonard Levy
Claremont Discourse presents:
Robert Dawidoff (CGU Professor of History), Leo Flynn (Pomona Professor of Politics), Charles Lofgren (CMC Professor of History and Politics), Jean Schroedel (CGU Professor of Politics), Andrew Busch (CMC Professor of Politics), and Ken Miller (CMC Professor of Politics), moderator
Founders Room
Honnold/Mudd Library
Thursday, September 20th, 4:15 p.m
Snacks provided; discussion to follow.
Leonard Levy (1923-2006) was perhaps the most respected constitutional historian of his time -- respected even by many of those who chafed at his interpretations. With over 40 books to his name, he left his profound mark nationally, as well as in Claremont, where he was Professor of Humanities and Chairman of the Faculty in History at the Claremont Graduate School from 1971 to 1990. Most famous among the books he published are Origins of the Fifth Amendment (which garnered the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1969), The Establishment Clause: Religion and the First Amendment (1986), Original Intent and the Framers’ Constitution (1988), and, as editor-in-chief, the magisterial Encyclopedia of the American Constitution (1986). Displaying both a scholarly honesty and a life-long commitment to thinking about constitutional problems, he substantially revised the tenor of his arguments in his 1960 book Legacy of Suppression, reissuing it in 1985 as Emergence of a Free Press. Levy most famously wrote that the “framers had a genius for studied imprecision.” In honor of Levy’s spirit of probing and open inquiry, and as one of the events the Libraries are sponsoring in celebration of Constitution Day, this panel (which includes two panelists who were colleagues of Levy) will discuss how to teach the Constitution and instill the idea that the Constitution is a life-long teacher, a document with volumes to say about history and the present day.
