Constitutionalism and the Free Society
*Links to video in session titles
| Time | Presenter | Presentation |
|---|---|---|
| 9 am |
Tom Ginsburg |
Welcoming remarks Roundtable: Constitutionalism and constitutional backsliding in global perspective |
| 11 am |
|
Panel: Constitutionalism and constitutional institutions (1) |
| Arash Abizadeh | Counter-majoritarian democracy: Persistent minorities, federalism, and the power of numbers | |
| Yasmin Dawood | Effective Governance and the Two Faces of Constitutionalism | |
| David Watkins | Democratic constitutionalism and non-domination: state actors and the perils and promise of bureaucratic discretion | |
| Chair/ discussant: Evan Fox-Decent | ||
| 2 pm |
Kelly Gordon |
Roundtable: Canadian constitutionalism: prospects and challenges |
| 4 pm | Panel: The history of constitutional thought | |
| Teresa Bejan | Levelling | |
| Guillaume Bogiaris | The Limiting Conditions of Resident-to-State Obligation in the Crito | |
| Daniel Lee | The science of right | |
| Chair/ discussant: William Clare Roberts |
| Time | Presenter | Presentation |
|---|---|---|
| 9 am |
Yann Allard-Tremblay Aaron James Mills Christa Scholtz Chair: Yves Winter |
Roundtable: Indigenous constitutionalism and constitutional politics |
| 11 am | Panel: Constitutionalism in Latin America | |
| Marcela Prieto Rudolphy and Sergio Verdugo | Chile's constitution-making process: Revolution, evolution, and pragmatism | |
| Claudia Heiss | Chile's constitution-making process: Building institutions in a state of exception | |
| Javier Couso Salas | On the competing conceptions of 'constitucionalism' behind the Bolivarian and liberal-democratic constitution-building processes of Latin America (1988-2021) | |
| Chair/ discussant: Manuel Balán | ||
| 2 pm | Panel: Constitutionalism and constitutional institutions (2) | |
| Erin Crandall | Are Canadian cities entrenched in provincial constitutions? A question of political constitutionalism | |
| Roberto Gargarella | Judicial review for defective democracies | |
| Hoi Kong | What Is the Canadian Constitution? Institutional and Normative Reflections | |
| Chair/ discussant: Geoffrey Sigalet | ||
| 4:30 pm | Keynote address and RGCS Lecture | |
| Melissa Schwartzberg | Constitutionalism and Local Knowledge: From the Black Death to COVID |
| Time | Presenter | Presentation |
|---|---|---|
| 9 am |
|
Panel: Contestation in constitutional theory |
|
Nomi Clare Lazar |
Constitutional alchemy | |
| Geoffrey Sigalet | On comity and contestation: Republicanism and the separation of powers | |
| Chair/ discussant: Daniel Weinstock | ||
| 11 am | Graduate student panel | |
| Wenyang Gao | Feeling Free and Speaking with Authority: Republican Freedom as Status Freedom | |
| Jimmy Lim | Taking Thrasymachus Seriously: The Political Psychology of John Rawls | |
| Vertika | Democracy is a Mirage of Equality! A Tocquevillean Reading of Contemporary Populism Illustrated by the Cases of France and Italy | |
| Chair/ discussant: Teresa Bejan | ||
| 2 pm | Panel: Constitutional transformations | |
| Samuel Bagg | The ideal of resisting state capture | |
| Elizabeth Beaumont | The Promise and Peril of Popular Constitutionalism for Constitutional Democracy | |
| Chair/ discussant: Victor Muñiz-Fraticellii | ||
| 4 pm | Panel: The Boundaries of constitutional inclusion | |
| Éléna Choquette | Enlarging the British settler state of Canada: A liberal policy | |
| Vrinda Narain | Constitutionalizing Women’s Equality Rights in India | |
| Mariah Zeisberg | Family-making as constitutional activism in 19th century antislavery politics | |
| Chair/ discussant: Catherine Lu |
| Time | Presenter | Presentation |
|---|---|---|
| 10 am | Victor Muñiz-Fraticelli | Closing remarks |
| 11 am-6 pm |
Political theory in/ and/ as political science, Junior scholars workshop By invitation; to preserve free discussion in the workshop, this part of the event will not be recorded. |
|
| 11 am | Alice Baderin, Lucy Barnes, and Lindsey Richards Discussant: Josiah Ober |
Inequality: From Distribution to Relationships |
| Glory Liu Discussant: Melissa Schwartzberg |
What’s the Matter with Inequality? Evidence from Surveys | |
| 2 pm | Alexandru Marcoci and Alexandra Oprea Discussant: Alison McQueen |
Free Speech, Liberal Character, and the Educational Mission of the University |
| Tamar Malloy Discussant: Rob Reich |
Reading, Writing, Respectability: The Disproportionate Application and Effects of Respectability Requirements in U.S. Schools | |
| 4 pm | Agnes Tam Discussant: Jack Knight |
Do Liberals Have to Fear Identity-Expressive Populism? |
| Maxime Lepoutre Discussant: Jacob Levy |
Political Understanding |
Tenth anniversary of RGCS
This conference marks the tenth anniversary of RGCS and caps a three-year grant to RGCS from the John Templeton Foundation for the support of the study of “Constitutionalism as the political theory and political science of a free society.” It is also a part the celebration of McGill's 200th anniversary. Additional support provided by grants from the Institute for Liberal Studies and the John Dobson Foundation.
The Research Group on Constitutional Studies Student Fellowship is a vital part of RGCS' intellectual life, and is in a capital campaign to build an endowment to ensure that the fellowship and its opportunities remain available for students in future years.
Conference co-organizers
Jacob Levy and Victor Muñiz-Fraticelli.
Conference assistant
Jimmy Lim
Technical support
Shruti Predhep
Lin Centre administrative coordinator
Nina Ahrendt