2015 Shawnee Trail Regional Seminar on American Politics and Constitutionalism

On Friday, May 22, 2015, the Kinder Forum hosted the inaugural Shawnee Trail Regional Seminar, a one-day, workshop-style conference designed to provide scholars in and around Missouri with an opportunity to share their current research and work on topics relating to American politics and constitutionalism. This year’s Seminar was organized as a series of four roundtable discussions, during which five pre-circulated papers were presented and discussed. The themes for the 2015 roundtables were: Matters of Theory, Public Law–Interpretation & Impact, Constitutional Matters, and American Politics & Political Development. Held at the Hampton Inn & Suites-Stadium in Columbia, MO, the Seminar was attended by professors and graduate students from: University of Texas at Austin, University of the Ozarks, University of Missouri, Missouri State University, Baylor University, Angelo State University (TX), Wichita State University, University of North Texas, and Claremont-McKenna College. After the final roundtable, participants convened at the University Club on the MU campus for a closing reception and dinner.

Below is a list of all presenters at the inaugural Shawnee Trail Seminar, along with the titles of the papers that they delivered and their university affiliations:

Roundtable 1: Matters of Theory

“In Defense of Staunch Holism,” Kody Cooper, 2015-16 Kinder Research Fellow in Political Science, University of Missouri

“Subversive Theology and the Declaration of Independence,” Justin Dyer, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of the Kinder Forum on Constitutional Democracy, University of Missouri

“Can Liberalism Appropriate the Moral Contents of Religions? Habermas and Tocqueville on Religions Transformation and Democracy’s Civic Life,” Giorgi Areshidze, Assistant Professor of Government, Claremont-McKenna College

“The Nature and Role of an Elite in (Democratizing) Nineteenth-Century America: Francis J. Grund’s Aristocracy in America,” Armin Mattes, Kinder Research Fellow in History, University of Missouri

“Franklin Roosevelt, the New Deal, and Liberal Politics,” Mark Scully, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of the Ozarks

Roundtable 2: Public Law–Interpretation & Impact

“Civil Rights Protest, Litigation, and Backlash in the Benton Harbor Schools,” Kathryn Schumaker, Assistant Professor in the Department of Classics & Letters, University of Oklahoma

“‘Substantially Equal’: The Supreme Court, the State of Missouri, and Efforts to Preserve Segregation in Education from Gaines to Ridgel,” James Endersby, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Missouri

“John and Tony Talk It Out: Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Kennedy’s Dialogue in Windsor v. United States and Hollingsworth v. Perry–‘Substantive’ Equal Protection and the Pending Decision in Bourke v. Beshear,” David Capper, Lecturer in Political Science, Baylor University

“The Constitutional Theory of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby,” Rachel Alexander, Doctoral Candidate in Political Science, Baylor University

“Liberalism, Religious Liberty, and the U.S. Supreme Court,” Kevin Pybass, Associate Professor of Political Science, Missouri State University

Roundtable 3: Constitutional Matters

“Federalism, the Separation of Power(s), and the Puzzle of Constitutional Authority,” Connor Ewing, Doctoral Candidate in Government, University of Texas at Austin

“The Extraordinary Effects of Ordinary Politics: Constitutional Rights During War and Crisis,” Justin Wert, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Oklahoma

“Taking a Break from Constitutional Authority: A Relational Conception of the Recess Appointments Clause,” Thomas Bell, Doctoral Candidate in Government, University of Texas at Austin

“The Court and the Old Dominion: Views of Judicial Review among the Virginia Jeffersonians,” Jordan Cash, Doctoral Candidate in Political Science, Baylor University

“The Ambiguous Origins of Constitutional Review,” Sung-Wook Paik, 2014-15 Kinder Postdoctoral Fellow in Political Science, University of Missouri

Roundtable 4: American Politics & Political Development

“Justice Kennedy’s Egalitarian Vision,” Tony Bartl, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Angelo State University

“America’s Unique Revolutionary Tradition: Legitimating Action in the Governing Cycle,” Curt Nichols, 2014-15 Kinder Research Fellow in Political Science, University of Missouri via Baylor University

“Congressional Attacks on the Supreme Court,” Dave Bridge, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Baylor University

“The Whig Era Politics of Electoral System Adoption: The National Single-Member District Mandate for the House of Representatives,” Jay Dow, Professor of Political Science, University of Missouri

“Montesquieu and the American Constitutional Debate,” Nicholas Drummond, 2015-16 Kinder Postdoctoral Fellow in Political Science, University of Missouri