[Via H-Law, we have the call for papers, presentations, and panels for Rights and Wrongs: A Constitution and Citizenship Day Conference at San Francisco State University,” to be held September 18-19, 2017. Deadline: June 20.]
We welcome proposals for papers, presentations, panels, roundtables, and workshops at "Rights and Wrongs: A Constitution and Citizenship Day Conference," which will take place on 18-19 September 2017.
In the recent past, constitutional law has emerged as a critical nexus for discussion and debate about U.S. society, politics, and culture. Court rulings about abortion, affirmative action, campaign finance, disability rights, immigration restriction, military detention, racialized policing, religious freedom, same-sex marriage, trans rights, and voting rights have won praise and criticism. The public has celebrated and condemned key aspects of the U.S. constitutional system, including the Electoral College's role in selecting the President, the Senate's responsibility to "advise and consent" in the appointment of Supreme Court justices, and the war powers of the President and Congress. In 2017, we also are observing a set of important constitutional anniversaries, including the 75th anniversary of Japanese American internment, the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's invalidation of laws against interracial marriage, the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's ruling in favor of antigay immigration restriction, and the 40th anniversary of the longest nonviolent occupation of a federal building in U.S. history in the Section 504 protest for disability rights.
What does the U.S. Constitution say and do? Does it produce and preserve social hierarchies or does it support the radical expansion of citizenship, democracy, and inclusion? Is the United States experiencing a constitutional crisis? Have the country's recent political troubles exposed longstanding problems with the U.S. constitutional "order"? Can the history of the U.S. Constitution serve as a resource for those who are troubled by today's uses and abuses of U.S. power and politics? For those who seek positive social change, is the Constitution an opportunity or an obstacle? Can and should it be amended? Who makes meaning out of the U.S. Constitution and what meanings are made of it? What are the domestic and global implications of our interpretations and transformations of the U.S. Constitution?
Please join us to discuss these and other issues at "Rights and Wrongs." San Francisco State University has a proud tradition of sponsoring Constitution and Citizenship Day conferences. Last year's event was sponsored by the College of Liberal and Creative Arts and cosponsored by fifteen other SFSU colleges, departments, programs, centers, institutes, and student groups. More than 1100 faculty, students, and community members attended the conference, which featured a mix of faculty, graduate student, and community-based presenters. As was the case last year, the 2017 conference will provide multiple opportunities to reflect critically on the past, present, and future of constitutional rights and freedoms and larger questions about equality, democracy, and justice.
Proposals for papers, presentations, panels, roundtables, and workshops (maximum 250 words) should be submitted by 20 June 2017 to marcs@sfsu.edu. We welcome individual and group submissions. Please submit short vitas/resumes for all participants. Recommended topics include but are not limited to Academic Freedom, Islamophobia, and Palestine; Amending the Constitution; Black Lives Matter and Racialized Policing; Campaign Finance and the First Amendment; Chinese Exclusion and Japanese American Internment; Citizenship as Legal, Political, Social, and Cultural; Constitutional Colonialism in the Caribbean, Asia, and the Pacific; Corporate Rights and the Private Sphere; Disability Rights and Wrongs; Educational Rights, Teacher Tenure, and Faculty Unions; Free Speech on and off Campus; Health Care Rights and Wrongs; Housing and Homeless Rights; Immigration Law and National Borders; Indigenous Rights in Native America, Alaska, and Hawaii; Labor Law, Union Rights, and Workplace Protection; Marijuana, Drugs, and the Law; Marriage Equality and Inequality; Military Justice and Injustice; Muslims, Mexicans, and the Politics of Exclusion; Nationalism, Populism, and the Constitution; Parties, Elections, and Political Realignment; Popular Constitutionalism and the Public Sphere; Press Freedom, "Fake News," and the Politics of Public Accountability; Prisons, Prisoners, and the Carceral State; Religious Equality, Religious Discrimination, and Freedom from Religion; Reproductive and Parenting Rights; Revolutions, Reconstructions, and Redemptions of the U.S. Constitution; Slavery, Servitude, and the Constitution; Student Rights and Freedoms; Supreme Court Appointments and the Politics of "Advise and Consent"; Surveillance and Security; Trans Rights and Freedoms; Voting Rights, Legislative Redistricting, and the Electoral College; War Powers and the Politics of Checks and Balances; Women's Rights, Sex Discrimination, and Sexual Harassment.
Organizing Committee:
Conference Coordinator: Marc Stein, History Department
Rabab Ibrahim Abdulhadi, Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Studies
Martin Carcieri, Political Science Department
Teresa Carrillo, Latina/Latino Studies Department
Deb Cohler, Women and Gender Studies Department
Brad Fogo, College of Education
Steve Harris, History Department
Mali Kigasari, Paralegal Studies Program
Catherine Kudlick, History Department and Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability
Catherine Powell, Labor Archives and Research Center
Marla Ramírez, Sociology and Sexuality Studies Department
Belinda Reyes, Cesar E. Chavez Institute
César "Ché" Rodríguez, Criminal Justice Studies Department
Christen Sasaki, Asian American Studies Department
Johnny Symons, School of Cinema
Sponsor: College of Liberal and Creative Arts
Marc Stein
Jamie and Phyllis Pasker Professor of History
San Francisco State University