Scholarship@WashULaw

Document Type

Book Section

Language

English (en)

Publication Date

2026

Publication Title

Teaching Constitutional Law

Abstract

Teaching Constitutional Law in the present era presents unique pedagogical challenges. My students arrive skeptical of the field, doubtful of the Supreme Court’s authority, questioning the relevance of legal methods in determining case outcomes, and perceiving constitutional adjudication as irreducibly political. Rather than dismiss these concerns, I argue that constitutional law professors must acknowledge them directly. Our task is not to restore naïve faith in judicial neutrality (an impossible ideal), but to present students with a vision of constitutional meaning-making—one grounded in politics, history, and democratic politics—in which they can recognize themselves as engaged participants in the future of our constitutional democracy.

Keywords

Constitutional Law, Pedagogy, Legal Education

Publication Citation

Andrea Scoseria Katz, Teaching Constitutional Law: Politics, Democracy and History, in Teaching Constitutional Law (H. W. Perry & Patrick Keyzer eds., forthcoming 2026)

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