NEWS RELEASE
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| Dr. Stanley Katz |
The Department of History and Political Science at Park University will host its annual Constitution Day Lecture on Wednesday, Sept. 12, beginning at 7 p.m., in the McCoy Meetin' House on the University's Parkville Campus. The lecture, "Gun-Barrel Democracy? Democratic Constitutionalism Following Military Occupation: Reflections on the U.S. Experience in Japan, Germany, Afghanistan and Iraq," will feature Stanley Katz, Ph.D., professor of public and international affairs, and director of the Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies at Princeton University.
Katz's recent research focuses on the relationship of civil society and constitutionalism to democracy, and on the relationship of the United States to the international human rights regime. He serves as editor-in-chief of the recently published Oxford International Encyclopedia of Legal History and the editor of History of the United States Supreme Court. He also writes about higher education policy and publishes a blog for the Chronicle of Higher Education. Katz is president emeritus of the American Council of Learned Societies, the national humanities organization in the United States.
James Pasley, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the Department of History and Political Science, said Park is pleased to recognize Constitution Day with Katz’s presentation.
"Dr. Katz is an expert in U.S. constitutional history, and his lecture on U.S. efforts to promote constitutional democracy exposes the pitfalls of nation-state building," Pasley said. "This topic is particularly timely, as the U.S. assesses its level of success in transforming the governments of Afghanistan and Iraq."
Katz's lecture will argue that the success of the United States in assisting in the creation of constitutional democracy in the post-World War II occupations of Germany and Japan is not relevant to establishing policies for the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq at the present time.
Constitution Day and Citizenship Day are federally mandated for all institutions of higher education that receive federal funding. The legislation was enacted in 2004 and implemented by the U.S. Department of Education in 2005.
Please note: McCoy Meetin' House has restricted physical access. Park University wants to make available to everyone access to all programs and activities conducted in this building. Requests for physical access accommodations should be addressed in a timely manner to Park University’s director of public safety at (816) 584-6226. Park University will make all reasonable modifications to ensure that individuals with physical challenges have an equal opportunity to enjoy all programs and activities.
