Scholarship
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A Global Leader in Constitutional Studies
Since opening our doors in 2014, the Kinder Institute has quickly become a global destination for studying the philosophical and historical origins of constitutional democracy in the United States, and the reverberations of the American Founding across continents and centuries.
Friday Colloquium Series
The cornerstone of intellectual life at the Kinder Institute, the Colloquium Series transforms our seminar room in Jesse 410 into a lecture hall every other Friday during the school year, with MU professors and visiting scholars presenting cutting edge research on political thought and political history from ancient ages to the present day.
For the Spring 2026 semester, we’ll be switching our Friday location to the Tiger Hotel ballroom in downtown Columbia, where we’ll be celebrating the United States’ semiquincentennial anniversary with our America at 250 lecture series, which will bring scholars from four continents to the Kinder Institute to share global perspectives on the United States’ historical narrative to date. See the calendar below for details on all remaining America at 250 events.
MU Press Book Series
Launched in 2016 with Lloyd Gaines and the Fight to End Segregation, the Kinder Institute’s Studies in Constitutional Democracy book series with University of Missouri Press has published award-winning monographs and edited collections on topics ranging from the Missouri Crisis to the myth of coequal branches.
Faculty Scholarship
At the heart of the Kinder Institute are faculty members engaged in producing nuanced, world-class scholarship on the dawn of constitutional democracy in the United States, its spread around the globe, and its evolution over time.
Postdoctoral Fellowships
Committed to the development of the next generation of scholars and teachers, the Kinder Institute sponsors multiple postdoctoral fellows in political history and political thought each year, along with a DPAA research fellow, on the fourth floor of Jesse Hall.
International Conferences
In addition to our regular Friday Colloquium Series, the Kinder Institute regularly hosts scholars from around the globe for themed conferences, book-in-progress workshops, and meetings of historical organizations.