Michele Goodwin, the Linda D. and Timothy J. O'Neill Professor of Constitutional Law and Global Health Policy at Georgetown University Law Center, will present “Recalling the Reconstruction: Originalism and the Blindspot of Legal History” on Feb. 1.
Goodwin’s lecture centers Reconstruction and its historical and contemporary meanings in United States jurisprudence, legislation and society. She will examine the implications of the Supreme Court’s turn toward originalism, and queries whether their methodology can be reconciled with the true origins, expectations and experiences associated with the Reconstruction.
Goodwin argues that understanding the period leading to the Reconstruction, its founding and the law since that period, could help to inform jurisprudence going forward.
Note: The lecture is not open to the public or media.