Launched in the summer of 2008, the Gloria L. and Charles I. Clough Center for the Study of Constitutional Democracy at Boston College is dedicated to interdisciplinary reflection on the promise and problems of constitutional government in the United States and throughout the world. The center, under the direction of Ken I. Kersch, sponsors scholarly lectures, conferences, and colloquia; provides financial support for faculty, graduate and undergraduate research; offers internship and junior fellowship programs for Boston College undergraduates; and hosts the Boston Area Public Law Workshop, which brings together a community of scholars from colleges and universities around the Boston area to discuss important works-in-progress dealing with questions of constitutional government. Through these and other initiatives, the Clough Center will serve as a hub for reflection upon some of the most significant questions concerning self-government under the rule of law.
FEATURED ART EXHIBIT
First Hand: Civil War-Era Drawings From the Becker Collection, McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College.
MULTIMEDIA
Is democracy a universal value? What have we learned from Iraq?
VIDEO FROM FRONT ROW
John T. Agresto, visiting fellow at the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University, discusses his recent experiences in Iraq.
The selective greening of American business: The role of social norms, politics, and law
VIDEO FROM FRONT ROW
Robert Kagan, professor of law and political science at the University of California, Berkeley, discusses governmental regulation.
Kersch on the Constitution
Ken Kersch, director of the Clough Center and an associate professor of political science, history, and law at Boston College, talks to Nevada Public Radio about the origins of conservative thinking about the U.S. Constitution.
The Constitution as a Living Culture
Ken Kersch, director of the Clough Center and an associate professor of political science, history, and law at Boston College, discusses the difference between the constitution as a text and the constitution as a living culture. (Interview begins at the program's 32nd minute.)
Upcoming Events
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2009
Aurelian Craiutu, Harvey Mansfield, Cheryl Welch, and R. Shep Melnick: Book roundtable discussing Craiutu’s Tocqueville's Views on America after 1840: Letters and Other Writings (Cambridge University Press, 2009)(with Jeremy Jennings), November 9, 4:30 p.m., Heights Room, Corcoran Commons. Open to the Public.
Luncheon seminar with Aurelian Craiutu and Vlad Perju on ongoing revisions to the Romanian Constitution, Monday, November 9, 12-1:45 p.m., McGuinn 521. Craiutu is chair of the Commission revising the Romanian Constitution, and Perju serves on that Commission. (by invitation)
Monday, November 16, 2009
Danièle Hervieu-Léger, "Secularization and Contemporary Religious Renewal in Europe," 12-1:30 p.m., McGuinn 3rd floor lounge. RSVP Required (before November 11). RSVP to Clough.Center@bc.edu
James Q Wilson, "Thinking About Crime, Again - What Have We Learned?" Higgins Hall, Room 310, 4:45 p.m.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2009
Allan C. Hutchinson, “Tensions Between Democracy and Constitutionalism,” luncheon discussion, 12 p.m. Barat House, First Floor (Boston College Law School). RSVP Required.
View all 2009-10 Clough Center events