[We have the following announcement from the New-York Historical Society's Institute for Constitutional History, which is not to be confused with the Institute for Constitutional Studies directed by Maeva Marcus at George Washington University. DRE]
The New-York Historical Society's Bonnie and Richard Reiss Graduate Institute for Constitutional History's fall seminar has been announced. The ICH seminar is produced twice per year and designed for graduate students, junior faculty, and other educators, in history, political science, law, and related disciplines. There is no tuition for this seminar. The fall seminar will take place in person throughout November.
Reconstruction and Its Legal Legacy
Meeting Dates & Times: Fridays, November 1, 8, 15, and 22, 2024 | 2–5 pm ET
Instructors: Laura F. Edwards, Martha S. Jones
This seminar will use the lens of legal history to explore the advent of Reconstruction’s short-lived experiment in democracy, through to its intended and unintended consequences today. Once an overlooked chapter labeled “the tragic era,” subsequent histories, beginning with W. E. B. DuBois’s 1935 Black Reconstruction, have examined the era’s transformations, terming it an “unfinished revolution,” a “second American revolution,” and, most recently, a “second American republic.” Reconstruction remade the nation’s legal regime and with it the economic, political, and social order. The same changes determined which Americans – women, immigrants, people of color, and workers – might claim rights and exercise them. Even today, Reconstruction is key to understanding power and governance in the United States. Provisions of 1868’s 14th Amendment – from birthright citizenship, to equal protection and due process, sanctions for insurrection, and voting rights – define core legal values and what people can expect of the government.
Although we encourage students to attend the class in person, livestream participation will be offered to admitted students who do not live in the New York Metropolitan Area or who are unable to attend a class in person.
Instructors: Laura F. Edwards is the Class of 1921 Bicentennial Professor in the History of American Law and Liberty at Princeton University and the author of five books, including A Legal History of the Civil War and Reconstruction: A Nation of Rights. Martha S. Jones is the Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor, Professor of History, and a Professor at the SNF Agora Institute at The Johns Hopkins University. Her most recent book is Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All.
Application Process. The seminar is designed for graduate students and junior faculty in history, political science, law, and related disciplines. All participants will be expected to complete the assigned readings and participate in seminar discussions. Although the Institute cannot offer academic credit directly for the seminar, students may be able to earn graduate credit through their home departments by completing an independent research project in conjunction with the seminar. Please consult with your advisor and/or director of graduate studies about these possibilities.
Space is limited. To apply, please submit the following material to ich@nyhistory.org by October 11, 2024: Your C.V. and a short statement on how this seminar will be useful to you in your research, teaching, or professional development.
Successful applicants will be notified soon thereafter. For further information, please email Andrew Fletcher at ich@nyhistory.org.
