Civil Liberties

Option 1 - Module Analysis

1. What were the most interesting and/or surprising things you learned while reading the chapter and watching the lecture videos (elaborate: Why was it surprising to you? What were your prior thoughts/understandings about this matter? Does what you learned change your understanding of American government in any way? Can you find/link to an outside source that elaborates on this finding in greater detail?)
2. What specific material from this module do you most hope you'll still remember 10 years from now? (elaborate: Why do you think it's important to remember these specific things?)
3. What was the fuzziest point presented in the readings or videos? In other words, what's the one thing that's most unclear to you? [perhaps one of your peers will be able to clarify that fuzzy point with a reply post]

Option 2 - Freedom of Religion Case

Explain how you would rule if you were a Supreme Court justice hearing the case about the use of student activities fees for a Christian student newspaper, as described at the end of the lecture video on the First Amendment. Do a little bit of research on the actual case (Rosenberger v. University of Virginia) - oyez.org is a reliable source with good case summaries as well as access to the written opinions of the Supreme Court - and discuss some element of the decision you found interesting and/or compelling.

Option 3 - Analyze a Civil Liberties Supreme Court Precedent

Supreme Court cases are hugely important for determining what the words of the Bill of Rights actually mean in practice. We could spend the whole semester reviewing key civil liberties cases (in fact, that's what you'll do if you ever take a Constitutional Law class). But there are too many to analyze each of them in depth for the scope of this course. Instead, choose ONEof the landmark cases that's of interest to you. Describe the basic facts of the case and how the Court ruled. What are the implications of the ruling for how our civil liberties are defined in practice? How might things be different in the country today if the court ruled the other way? Do you think the Court made the right decision or did they get it wrong? Explain. Choose from one of the cases from Chapter 4 listed here:

Sample Solution