B.A. in Constitutional Democracy

The 36-credit hour B.A. in Constitutional Democracy not only engages undergrads in the College of Arts & Science in a close, interdisciplinary examination of the ideas and events that are central to understanding the founding of the United States but also provides students with an opportunity to trace the reverberation of these ideas and events over time and around the globe. How and why have the philosophical ambitions and historical practice of constitutional democracy changed over time in the U.S.? What are the institutions and who are the figures that have been most responsible for driving this change? How, over the course of its history, has U.S. constitutional democracy influenced—and been influenced by—foreign nations? These are just some of the many questions that students can explore through the major, which consists of required common curriculum courses and concentrated upper-level electives in Constitutional Democracy, History, Black Studies, Women’s & Gender Studies, Philosophy, Public Affairs, Economics, and more.

NOTE: Applications are now open for a number of the Kinder Institute’s experiential learning opportunities: The Spring 2025 Constitutional Litigation seminar (link here), the January-session study abroad trip to South Africa (link here), the 2025 Kinder Scholars D.C. Summer Program (link here), and our inaugural 2025 Oxford Summer School (link here).

Any student interested in pursuing or adding a major in Constitutional Democracy should contact Kinder Institute Director of Undergraduate Studies Dr. Thomas Kane, KaneTC@missouri.edu, or Constitutional Democracy Academic Advisor Brittony Hein, corneillierb@missouri.edu.

Degree Plan

There are four primary components of the Constitutional Democracy B.A., which requires 36 total hours of coursework in the College of Arts & Science at a C- grade or higher.

I. 15 hours of common curriculum coursework on the origins of the United States

II. 15 hours of upper-level coursework in one of four concentration areas: U.S. & the World, Politics & Policy, Law & Institutions, and Social & Political Thought

III. 3 hours of experiential coursework

IV. 3 hours of thesis, senior seminar, or capstone coursework*

A degree worksheet for the B.A. and list of Spring 2025 courses that apply to the major can be accessed using the links below.

A current draft of the full catalog of common curriculum and concentration area courses that apply to the B.A. can be found here.

*Students who write a two-semester thesis can substitute three of their six thesis credit hours for a concentration area course.

Common Curriculum Courses

Adapted from the Kinder Institute’s Constitutionalism & Democracy course series, the major’s common curriculum, which consists of the five classes below, allows students to explore the origins of the United States, from the philosophers that the founding generation were reading when they were contemplating the design and ambitions of the new nation’s government to the first rocky decades of the American republic.

CNST DEM 2450: Intellectual World of the American Founders (also POL SC 2450)
CNST DEM 2100: Revolutionary Transformation of Early America (also HIST 2100)
CNST DEM 2455: Constitutional Debates (also POL SC 2455)
CNST DEM 2120: Young Republic (also HIST 2120)
CNST DEM 4400: History of American Law (also HIST 4400)

We will offer at least one Honors section of the four 2000-level required courses per year, as well as a Writing Intensive (WI) section of History of American Law in alternating years. Also, starting in Fall 2023, GN_HON 2245: Revolutions and GN_HON 2246: Constitutions can substitute for CNST_DEM 2100 and 2455, respectively.

Concentration Area 1 Elective Courses: U.S. & the World

BL_STU 2604: Caribbean History & Culture
BL_STU 2904: Black Studies in Slavery & Freedom
BL_STU 3804: Resistance in the Black Atlantic
BL_STU 4640: African Politics
CNST_DEM 4835: Race & Politics in South Africa
HIST 2150: The American Civil War, a Global History
HIST 2570: The First World War & Its Aftermath
HIST 2820: Taiwan, the First Chinese Democracy
HIST 3485: U.S. & the Middle East
HIST 3545: World War II
HIST 3620: Britain & the Sea
HIST 3815: Africa & the World
HIST 3855: Japan & Britain, 1850-1940
HIST 3860: History of Mexico
HIST 3870: Social Revolution in Latin America
HIST 4070: Indians & Europeans in Early America
HIST 4075: Global History at Oxford
HIST 4260: The Age of Ascendancy, U.S. Foreign Relations 1945-Present
HIST 4615: Empire’s Crossroads
HIST 4650: The French Revolution & Empire
HIST 4680: Germany in the 20th Century
HIST 4800: Modern China & Japan
HIST 4821: Constitutionalism in the Americas
HIST 4880: Chinese Migration
POL_SC 2410: The Politics of International Law
POL_SC 2600: Canadian Politics
POL_SC 4420: Politics of International Economic Relations
POL_SC 4430: Global Human Rights
POL_SC 4540: American Foreign Policies
POL_SC 4680: Chinese Politics & Foreign Policy
POL_SC 4690: Politics of North & South Korea
POL_SC 4750: Power & Money

Concentration Area 2 Elective Courses: Politics & Policy

BL_STU 4303: Race, Class, Gender, & U.S. Social Policy
CNST_DEM 2445: American Constitutional Democracy
ENV_SC 4400: Environmental Law & Policy
HIST 2210: 20th Century America
HIST 2440: Missouri History
HIST 3210: History of Religion in Post-Civil War America
HIST 4235: The Wire: Race, Urban Inequality, & the “Crisis” of the American City
HIST 4260: The Age of Ascendancy, U.S. Foreign Relations 1945-Present
HIST 4270: African Americans in the 20th Century
HIST 4280: America in the Reagan Years
POL_SC 2250: Missouri Politics
POL_SC 4131: Race & Politics
POL_SC 4140: Congress & Legislative Policy
POL_SC 4150: American Presidency
POL_SC 4320: Public Policy
POL_SC 4370: The Administrative State, Public Policy, & Constitutional Democracy
POL_SC 4390: U.S. Health Politics & Policy
POL_SC 4420: Politics of International Economic Relations
POL_SC 4540: American Foreign Policies
POL_SC 4550: Environmental Conflict
POL_SC 4750: Power & Money

Concentration Area 3 Elective Courses: Law & Institutions

BL_STU 4415: African Americans & American Justice
CNST_DEM 2445: American Constitutional Democracy
CNST_DEM 4231: Constitutional Litigation
ECONOM 3367: Law & Economics
ENV_SC 4400: Environmental Law & Politics
HIST 4821: Constitutionalism in the Americas
JOURN 4000: Communications Law
PHIL 4610: Philosophy of Law
POL_SC 2200: Judicial Process
POL_SC 2410: Politics of International Law
POL_SC 4140: Congress & Legislative Policy
POL_SC 4141: History of American Legislatures
POL_SC 4150: The American Presidency
POL_SC 4190: Elections & Democracy in the U.S.
POL_SC 4200: The American Constitution
POL_SC 4210: Constitutional Rights
POL_SC 4220: The Supreme Court
POL_SC 4230: The Constitution & Civil Liberties
POL_SC 4370: The Administrative State, Public Policy, & Constitutional Democracy
POL_SC 4380: Politics of Criminal Justice
POL_SC 4440: International Organizations
WGST 3260: Gender, Law, & Justice

Concentration Area 4 Elective Courses: Social & Political Thought

AMS 3100: Age of Pericles
AMS 4800: Political Thought in Classical & Christian Antiquity (also taught as POL_SC 4800: Classical Political Thought)
BL_STU 2804: Black Political Thought
BL_STU 3605: The History of Blacks in Germany
BL_STU 3670/HIST 3410: Black Nationalism in the U.S.
CNST_DEM 2425: Race & the American Story
HIST 3200: Black Freedom Movement, 1955-1973
HIST 3560: Scientific Revolution
HIST 4580: Intellectual History of Europe
PHIL 3500: Existentialism
PHIL 4610: Philosophy of Law
POL_SC 2860: American Political Thought
POL_SC 4430: Global Human Rights
POL_SC 4810: Modern Political Thought
POL_SC 4820: Contemporary Political Theory
WGST 2020: Feminist Theory
WGST 3450: Feminist Methodologies

Experiential Learning Requirement

We want to be broad and creative in our thinking about experiential learning, and students in the Constitutional Democracy major can fulfill this requirement in a number of ways, not only through internships that allow them to pursue professional interests, but also through study abroad and writing-focused classes and, we hope over time, through research assistantships, directed research programs, and more.

The following courses can be applied toward the Kinder Institute’s experiential requirement, though students can petition Kinder Institute Director of Undergraduate Studies Dr. Thomas Kane, KaneTC@missouri.edu, or Academic Advisor Brittony Hein, corneillierb@missouri.edu, for a class not listed below to fulfill the experiential requirement.

CNST DEM/POL_SC 4231: Constitutional Litigation (formerly CNST DEM 2004)
CNST DEM/HIST/BL_STU 4835: Race & Politics in South Africa
CNST DEM/HIST/POL_SC 4900: Beltway History & Politics
CNST_DEM 4940: Internship in Constitutional Democracy
CNST DEM 4975 or 4975H: Journal on Constitutional Democracy
HIST 4075 or 4075H: Global History at Oxford
HIST 4910W: History in the Public
HIST 4940: Internship in History
POL SC 4940: Internship in Political Science
SRV LRN 3028: Civic Leaders Internship

Note that students cannot use a course to fulfill both a concentration area and experiential learning requirement. Any use of a second concentration area class toward concentration area coursework must be approved by Kinder Institute Director of Undergraduate Studies, Dr. Thomas Kane (KaneTC@missouri.edu).

Thesis and Capstone Coursework

Students can fulfill their capstone requirement by completing one of the three courses detailed below

I. CNST_DEM 4996: Thesis in Constitutional Democracy (3-6 credit hours): Students can apply to write either a one-semester or two-semester thesis during their sixth semester on campus/prior to the beginning of their final year on campus. All thesis applications must have the support of a faculty member and be approved by Dr. Thomas Kane. All students who want to pursue a thesis must schedule a meeting with Dr. Kane, KaneTC@missouri.edu, prior to submitting an application so that all expectations are understood.

II. CNST_DEM 4971W: Senior Seminar in Constitutional Democracy: At least once per year, the Kinder Institute will offer a writing intensive senior seminar course on a topic that, while highly refined in scope, is conceptually broad enough that it overlaps with all four concentration areas. Faculty leaders of the senior seminar will rotate on a semester-by-semester basis.

III. Finally, students can fulfill the capstone requirement by taking an additional 4000-level course in their concentration area.

Departmental Honors

Starting with the 2024-25 academic year, the Kinder Institute will offer departmental honors to all Constitutional Democracy major who meet the following criteria:

I. Overall GPA of 3.7 in the major

II. Completion of two (min.) in-major writing intensive classes (WI), at least one of which must be either CNST_DEM 4400W or CNST_DEM 4971W

III. Completion of two (min.) experiential courses associated with the major

Any student wishing to petition to have a WI or experiential course count toward departmental honors that is not part of the Constitutional Democracy curriculum should email Director of Undergraduate Studies Dr. Thomas Kane, KaneTC@missouri.edu, to set up a meeting.