“Whether in the classroom, around seminar tables, or in conversation with faculty, we are nourished on a healthy diet of argument and reflection about the meaning and significance of America. For instruction in the moral and theoretical foundations of American politics, we invest our intellectual energy into studying the political thought of American statesmen such as Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Abraham Lincoln, to name a few.

“We learn to understand the Constitution and the governmental structure it established in light of the principles that animated its authors. We analyze landmark opinions of the Supreme Court, examining the ways in which the Court’s interpretation of the Constitution has both preserved and transformed its meaning. We read classic novels by America’s greatest writers, awakening to the sense in which great literature can sometimes tell more about American political principles than the best of treatises. And, of course, we have ample opportunities to study and discuss today’s political landscape and the ideas, policies, and personalities that are shaping it.”