This site provides writing advice. If you're writing a superhero novel or comic book, please also read our superhero writing articles.

Would you like to subscribe to our RSS feed?

Professor Dan Lindley

• Office in 448 Decio Hall
• Phone: 574-631-3226
• Email: dlindley@nd.edu
• website: http://www.nd.edu/~dlindley/
• Office Hours: Tuesday 1:15-2:45, Wednesdays 12-1:30 pm, appointments

Course materials

• Betts, Conflict after the cold war: arguments on the causes of war and peace
• Blainey, The Causes of War
• Evera, Causes of War: Power and the Roots of Conflict
• Course packets

Grading

• 30% for Participation

TO BE COMPLETED

Professor Barber

Grading

• 40-50% on midterm (October 10).
• 40-50% on final exam (Dec. 18)
• 0-20% on surprise quizzes

Required Texts

• American Constitutional Interpretation (Murphy, Fleming, Barber and Macedo: 3rd edition, 2003)
• The Federalist (Scigliano)
• Other readings in Hesburgh reserve, available online or course packet for sale in LaForture

Class schedule

1. • Materials on Lawrence v. Texas
   • ACI, chapters 1-2 (pages 1461-81)
2. Basic Questions of Constitutional Interpretation
   • ACI, 134-8, 158-69, 207-18, 936-43, 1404-37, 1513-20, 243-70
3. Interpetation: Constitutional and Otherwise
   • Leo Strauss, “An Interpretation of Genesis” (course packet)
   • Plato, The Apology of Socrates (excerpt) (course packet)
   • The Federalist, Numbers 1, 5-6, 9-10, 40, 45-51, 62-3, 68, 70-2, 78-9, 84
   • William Schambra, “Progressive Liberalism and American ‘community’ ” (course packet)
4. Who Interprets and When?
   • ACI, chapter 7
   • Abraham Lincoln, “The Dred Scott Decision” (course packet)
   • ABA Report on Presidential Signing Statements (www.abanet.org/op/signingstatements)
5. Approaches to Constitutional Interpretation: Introduction
   • ACI, chapter 9
   • John Hart Ely, Democracy and Distrust (chapter 3) (Hesburg Reserve).
6. Approaches: Textualism and Consensualism
   • ACI, chapter 12
   • Michael Moore, “Do we have an unwritten constitution?”  (Hesburgh Reserve)
7. Approaches, Philosophic Approach
   • ACI, chapter 18
   • Ronald Dworkin, “The Moral Reading of the Constitution” (Hesburgh Reserve)
8. Approaches: Intentionalism (”Originalism”)
   • ACI, chapter 14
   • Robert Bork, The Tempting of America (chapters 7, 8, 12, pages 74-84) (Hesburgh Reserve)
9. Approaches: Structuralism
   • ACI, chapter 11
   • Walter Berns, “The Meaning of the Tenth Amendment” (course packet)
   • Ely, Democracy and Distrust (chapter 4) (Hesburgh reserve)
10. Approaches: Pragmatism and the Limits of Interpretation
    • ACI, chapter 19
    • Richard Posner, “What has pragmatism to offer law?”  (course packet)