Notre Dame - Constitutional Studies Lectures

The keynote lecture of the Notre Dame Graduate Conference in Political Theory and Constitutional Studies featured Yale University Professor Dr. Bryan Garsten to Notre Dame.

Dr. Bryan Garsten is Professor of Political Science and the Humanities, and Chair of the Humanities Program at Yale University. He is the author of "Saving Persuasion: A Defense of Rhetoric and Judgment" (Harvard University Press, 2006) as well as articles on political rhetoric and deliberation, the meaning of representative government, the relationship of politics and religion, and the place of emotions in political life.

Dr. Garsten is now finishing a book called "The Heart of a Heartless World" that examines the ethical, political and religious core of early nineteenth century liberalism in the United States and France.

Learn more about the CCCG: constudies.nd.edu/

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The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the University of Notre Dame, the College of Arts and Letters, or the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government.

Recorded May 3, 2024 at the University of Notre Dame

John Yoo is the Emanuel Heller Professor of Law at the University of California at Berkeley. He is also a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and a Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University.

Professor Yoo has served in all three branches of government. He was an official in the U.S. Department of Justice, where he worked on national security and terrorism issues after the 9/11 attacks. He served as general counsel of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. He has been a law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and federal appeals Judge Laurence Silberman.

His talk discusses the legal controversies surrounding former President Donald Trump, focusing specifically on his actions leading up to and following January 6, 2021. This discussion transcends personal opinions of Trump and examines the broader implications for the U.S. legal and political landscape.

Visit the CCCG: constudies.nd.edu/

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The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the University of Notre Dame, the College of Arts and Letters, or the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government.

Recorded April 19, 2024 at the University of Notre Dame

Carson Holloway is Ralph Wardle Diamond Professor of Arts and Sciences and Professor of Political Science at the University of Nebraska, Omaha and a Washington Fellow in the Claremont Institute’s Center for the American Way of Life. He is the author of "Hamilton versus Jefferson in the Washington Administration: Completing the Founding or Betraying the Founding?" (Cambridge University Press, 2015).

Learn about the nuances of the actual malice standard, a cornerstone principle that has governed defamation law in the United States since the landmark case New York Times vs. Sullivan in 1964. The talk explores not only the origins and subsequent development of this pivotal doctrine but also offers a profound reflection on its implications for freedom of the press and speech under the First Amendment.

Visit the CCCG: constudies.nd.edu/

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The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the University of Notre Dame, the College of Arts and Letters, or the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government.

Recorded March 27, 2024 at the University of Notre Dame

Alexander Chula is a Thai-British medical doctor and writer, living and working in London. He studied Classics at Oxford then medicine at the University of London.

His first book, "Goodbye, Dr Banda," was published by Polygon in 2023. He has also written for The Spectator, The Daily Telegraph and The Critic in the UK, and for The New Criterion and National Review in the US.

Dr. Chula's book raises compelling questions about the universality of the humanities, the purposes of education, the challenges of nation-building in postcolonial Africa, and cultural transmission and translation.

Dr. Chula brings to us an engaging narrative of a small, often overlooked African country, Malawi. Despite its size, he showcases why Malawi embodies questions that resonate with global significance, touching on the value of education, the western canon, and cultural exchanges.

In "Goodbye Dr. Banda," Dr. Chula combines vivid storytelling with profound investigation into how the West engages with drastically diverse cultures, especially relevant in today's global context.

Visit the Center for Citizenship & Constitutional Government: https://constudies.nd.edu/

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The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the University of Notre Dame, the College of Arts and Letters, or the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government.

Recorded March 19, 2024

Dr. Melvin Rogers is Professor of Political Science and Associate Director of the Center for Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Brown University. He is an award-winning writer and speaker on race and democracy in American culture and politics.

In this talk, Dr. Rogers discusses writer and civil rights activist James Baldwin and his continuing legacy in America. Dive deep into the transformative ideas of James Baldwin and his profound effect on the black Freedom struggle of the early 1960s, as explored in this insightful lecture. Baldwin's work, celebrated for both capturing the public's imagination and challenging the political establishment, serves as a beacon of critical responsiveness to history's scars, especially those inflicted by white supremacy. This presentation navigates through Baldwin's interrogation of identity, history, and the ethical pillars of responsibility, forgiveness, redemption, and atonement, drawing a sharp contrast to the attitudes of evasion present in the era's discourse.

Visit the CCCG: constudies.nd.edu/

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The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the University of Notre Dame, the College of Arts and Letters, or the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government.

Recorded January 19, 2024 at the University of Notre Dame

Yoram Hazony is an Israeli philosopher, biblical scholar, and political theorist. He currently serves as the President of the Herzl Institute in Jerusalem, and is the Chairman of the Edmund Burke Foundation. Dr. Hazony is the author of The Virtue of Nationalism and Conservatism: A Rediscovery. He graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in East Asian Studies and completed his Ph.D. at Rutgers University in Political Theory.

As we discuss antisemitism, a subject Dr. Hazony approaches with hesitance, acknowledging its apparent remoteness from our daily realities. However, recent shocking events have foregrounded the persistence and danger of antisemitism, especially in academic contexts. Professor Hazony invites us to confront these uncomfortable truths, challenging us to reconsider our perceptions and stand against injustice.

In a time when the moral health and role of free speech in our universities are brought sharply into question, Dr. Hazony and the CCCG explores these issues.

Visit the Center for Citizenship & Constitutional Government: https://constudies.nd.edu/

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The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the University of Notre Dame, the College of Arts and Letters, or the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government.

Recorded February 26, 2024 at the University of Notre Dame

Join our distinguished panel for a discussion of "Growing in Virtue: Aquinas on Habit" by William C. Mattison III. Growing in Virtue is the only comprehensive account of growth in virtue in the thought of Thomas Aquinas.

Our conversation explores the intellectual rigor and accessibility of these topics, making them relevant to individuals of any or no religious affiliation, yet deeply rooted in Catholic thought.

The focal point of our dialogue is the intriguing relationship between the graced virtue of the Christian life, often referred to as supernatural or infused virtue, and the more universally recognized virtues that people of any or no faith can possess, known as acquired virtues. With the aid of our distinguished panelists, we navigate through the intricate scholarly debates surrounding these concepts, aiming to contribute meaningful insights into virtue scholarship.

Panelists:

- William C. Mattison III, Wilsey Family Associate Professor, University of Notre Dame

- Jennifer Herdt, Gilbert L. Stark Professor of Christian Ethics at Yale University's Divinity School.

- Jean Porter, John A. O'Brien Professor of Theology, University of Notre Dame

- Rev. Dominic Legge, O.P., Director of the Thomistic Institute and Associate Professor of Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.

Visit the CCCG: www.constudies.nd.edu

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The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the University of Notre Dame, the College of Arts and Letters, or the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government.

Recorded November 17, 2023 at the University of Notre Dame

For the Second Annual Jeanie Poole O’Shaughnessy Memorial Lecture, the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government (CCCG) at the University of Notre Dame, we welcomed Michael Pompeo, the 70th U.S. Secretary of State.

Pompeo was sworn in as Secretary of State on April 26, 2018. He previously served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency from January 2017 to April 2018. Prior to joining the Trump administration, Pompeo was serving in his fourth term as congressman from Kansas’ 4th District. He was a member of the House Intelligence Committee, the Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Select Benghazi Committee.

Amidst ongoing conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, Sec. Pompeo reflects on human dignity, private property, faith, and leadership. As we navigate through tumultuous times, it's imperative to discuss the intertwined nature of liberty, courage, faith, and the necessity for strong leadership in our nation.

Visit the CCCG: https://constudies.nd.edu/

This event was co-sponsored by the Notre Dame International Security Center (NDISC). Visit the Center: https://ndisc.nd.edu/

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The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the University of Notre Dame, the College of Arts and Letters, or the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government.

Recorded October 13, 2023 at the University of Notre Dame

Kate Hardiman Rhodes is Notre Dame alumna and a 2016-2017 Menard Family Tocqueville Fellow. She graduated from Notre Dame in 2017 with a B.A. summa cum laude in the Program of Liberal Studies and a minor in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.

She also received her M.Ed. through Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) program in 2019, teaching high school English and Religion in Chicago. Kate then attended Georgetown Law School at night while working for Cooper & Kirk, PLLC, a constitutional litigation firm. She clerked for Judge Trevor N. McFadden on the District Court for the District of Columbia and currently works as an associate at Cooper & Kirk, PLLC. She will soon clerk for Judge Gregory G. Katsas on the D.C. Circuit. Kate has published widely on education issues and plans to pursue a career in education law and policy.

Visit the CCCG: https://constudies.nd.edu/

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The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the University of Notre Dame, the College of Arts and Letters, or the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government.

Recorded September 15, 2023 at the University of Notre Dame

Judge Amul Roger Thapar serves on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and is a Distinguished Teaching Scholar with the CCCG at Notre Dame. He is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky and former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Judge Thapar will be speaking on his newly released book, "The People's Justice: Clarence Thomas and the Constitutional Stories that Define Him."

This is a Napa Institute Forum at Notre Dame lecture, and is co-sponsored by Notre Dame Law School and ND Law School's Program on Constitutional Structure.

Learn more about Notre Dame's Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government: https://constudies.nd.edu/

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The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the University of Notre Dame, the College of Arts and Letters, or the Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government.

Recorded August 29, 2023 at the University of Notre Dame