Social Science

Civil Rights

Politics 305

A study of civil rights in the American regime, with a view to this question: what are the rights of the individual, and how does government protect them? Supreme Court and other court cases will be studied, along with other sources in the American tradition. Topics include freedom of speech and press, religious liberty, freedom of association, gun rights, rights of persons in judicial proceedings, equal protection of the laws, due process of law, and privileges and immunities of citizenship. For each topic, the current liberal and conservative approach will be contrasted with that of the Founders.