The University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Constitutional Studies Forum brings academic programming at UNO that educates students, faculty, and the wider Omaha community about the Constitution of the United States, America’s constitutional traditions, their origins and development, and competing arguments over their meaning and proper application.
The forum’s events teach participants about the thought that informed the Constitution at the time of the American Founding, but also about the thought that has informed its evolution over the course of our history, as well as present-day debates about the Constitution’s meaning, and the various defenses and criticisms of America’s constitutional arrangements.
By sponsoring such events, the Forum aims not only to increase knowledge of America’s constitutional traditions, but also to model for students — and to invite students into — reasoned, intellectually serious, respectful, and civil dialogue about contested public questions.
The Forum’s events have been sponsored by the Department of Political Science, with the generous support of the Jack Miller Center.
Upcoming Constitutional Studies Forum Events
March 30, 2023 from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM in CPACS 132 | Politics, Philosophy, and the Origins of Modern Science
This seminar will be presented by Arthur Milikh, Executive Director of the Claremont Institute’s Center for the American Way of Life. Science used to be the preserve of a tiny handful of scholars, but it has risen to become one of the dominant authorities in our society. How did this come about? This lecture explores how Rene Descartes (1596-1650) sought to establish a new kind of science — one that could not only understand but also transform the world.
March 30, 2023 from 2:30–3:45 PM | Seminar: Alexis de Tocqueville on Democracy and the Freedom of the Press
This seminar will be presented by Arthur Milikh, Director of the Claremont Institute’s Center for the American Way of Life. Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America still stands as one of the most profound accounts of the promises and perils of modern self-government. This seminar will explore his understanding of the freedom of the press and address the following questions: How does a free press facilitate self-government? What dangers accompany the power of the press? How can modern democracies maximize the benefits of a free press while minimizing its drawbacks?
Seating is limited. If you are interested in attending, please contact Carson Holloway, Professor of Political Science at cholloway@unomaha.edu
May 4, 2023 from 10-11:30 AM in the Thompson Alumni Center, Centennial Hall | Pope Benedict XVI on the Moral Foundations of Politics
R.R. Reno, editor of the journal First Things, will deliver a public lecture on Pope Benedict XVI's understanding of the moral foundations of politics. The lecture will be followed by a panel discussion including Reno, Omar Gutierrez (of the Archdiocese of Omaha), and Carson Holloway (Chair, Department of Political Science).
May 4, 2023 from 1-2:15 PM | Seminar: Pope Benedict XVI on Freedom, Religion, and Politics
Presented by R. R. Reno, who has served as Editor of First Things since 2011. He received his Ph.D. in theology from Yale University, and taught theology and ethics at Creighton University in Omaha for 20 years. Reno has published in many academic journals, and his opinion essays have appeared in Commentary, National Review, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and New York Times, and other popular outlets. His most recent books include The End of Interpretation, Return of the Strong Gods, Resurrecting the Idea of a Christian Society, Fighting the Noonday Devil, Sanctified Vision, and a commentary on the Book of Genesis.
Seating is limited. If you are interested in attending, please contact Carson Holloway, Professor of Political Science at cholloway@unomaha.edu
2023 Past Events
| Date | Topic | Recording |
|---|---|---|
|
March 2, 2023 |
Has Liberalism Failed? A panel discussion featuring Patrick Deneen (University of Notre Dame), Vincent Phillip Munoz (University of Notre Dame), and Carson Holloway (UNO). | N/A |
2022 Events
| Date | Topic | Recording |
|---|---|---|
|
Feb. 22, 2022 |
The U.S. Constitution as a Politics of Imperfection — presented by David McPherson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Philosophy at Creighton University. | Watch Now |
|
Feb. 22, 2022 |
Somewheres and Anywheres: Patriotism versus Cosmopolitanism — presented by David McPherson, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Philosophy at Creighton University. | N/A |
|
March 30, 2022 |
The Original 1619 Project: Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural — presented by Diana Schaub, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science at Loyola University Maryland and a non-resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. | Watch Now |
|
April 21, 2022 |
Was John Locke a Libertarian? — presented by David Azerrad, Assistant Professor and Research Fellow at Hillsdale College’s Van Andel Graduate School of Government in Washington, D.C. | Watch Now |
|
April 21, 2022 |
Nihilism and the Origins of Modern War — presented by David Azerrad, Assistant Professor and Research Fellow at Hillsdale College’s Van Andel Graduate School of Government in Washington, D.C. | N/A |
|
April 28, 2022 |
American Constitutional Democracy in the Age of Social Media — presented by Alan Gibson, a Kinder Institute Distinguished Faculty Fellow at the University of Missouri. | N/A |
|
April 29, 2022 |
Kent A. Kirwan Lecture: The Consistency of James Madison — The Case of the Bill of Rights — The 2022 Kent A. Kirwan Lecture was presented by Michael Zuckert, University of Notre Dame. A panel discussion on "The Legacy of James Madison" followed the lecture. Panelists included:
|
Watch Now |
|
Aug. 25, 2022 |
The Separation of Science and State — presented by Michael Kochin, Professor Extraordinarius in the School of Political Science, Government, and International Relations at Tel Aviv University. | N/A |
|
Aug. 31, 2022 |
The Constitution Viewed From Without: The Security Dilemma and the Constitution of 1787 — presented by Michael Kochin, Professor Extraordinarius in the School of Political Science, Government, and International Relations at Tel Aviv University | Watch Now |
|
Sept. 22, 2022 |
Public Lecture: The State of the Supreme Court Today — presented by Derek Webb, a Senior Managing Associate at Sidley Austin, LLP in their Supreme Court and Appellate Practice Group and the Dean's Visiting Scholar at Georgetown University Law Center. | N/A |
|
Oct. 6, 2022 |
Freedom from Religion or Freedom for Religion: Rethinking the First Amendment's Protection for Religious Liberty — presented by Vincent Phillip Muñoz, the Tocqueville Associate Professor of Political Science and Concurrent Associate Professor of Law at the University of Notre Dame. He is also the Founding Director of ND’s Center for Citizenship & Constitutional Government. | Watch Now |
|
Nov. 10, 2022 |
Liberty, Union, and the Constitution: Lessons from the Nineteenth Century — This panel featured three distinguished scholars presenting on the constitutional thought of three important 19th-century American leaders. Lucas Morel of Washington and Lee University spoke on Abraham Lincoln, Pete Myers of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire presented on Frederick Douglass, and John Grove of Liberty Fund presented on John C. Calhoun. |