Nov 22, 2024
OHIO University Undergraduate Catalog 2024-25
POLS 4010 - American Constitutional Law
This course is a study of Supreme Court decisions and other public documents from the Founding to the present day. Topics will trace the development of constitutional doctrine regarding the authority of state and federal governments to regulate the economy and to protect civil rights. This course approaches the politics of constitutional interpretation with a particular focus on the generation of various theories of equality that promote social equality or limit the authority of the state to respond to social conditions.
Requisites: 6 Hours in POLS
Credit Hours: 3
OHIO BRICKS: Bridge: Ethics and Reasoning
Repeat/Retake Information: May be retaken two times excluding withdrawals, but only last course taken counts.
Lecture/Lab Hours: 3.0 lecture
Grades: Eligible Grades: A-F,WP,WF,WN,FN,AU,I
Learning Outcomes:
- Students will be able to identify the relevant facts, reasoning, and holding of a Supreme Court decision.
- Students will be able to synthesize Court opinions into constitutional doctrine.
- Students will be able to locate Supreme Court case law in historical context.
- Students will be able to identify various approaches and resistances to civil rights in constitutional doctrine.
- Students will be able to compare their received notions of equality to the theories in constitutional doctrine.
- Students will be able to compare approaches to civil rights within majority, concurring, and dissenting opinions in a Supreme Court decision.
- Students will be able to enact different theories of equality.
- Students will be able to assess the opportunities and obstacles to achieving equality.
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