The Department of Political Science and Philosophy will hold its second “Conversation Series” event 4-5:45 p.m. Feb. 22, 2024, in Karls Hall 101.

Guest speakers Steven Smith, J.D. and Sanford Levinson, Ph.D., J.D. will lead the audience in exploring the question “Does America Need a New Constitution?”
Smith is the Warren Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of San Diego, where he co-directs both the Institute for Law and Religion and the Institute for Law and Philosophy. He has held named professorships at the law schools at Notre Dame and University of Colorado.
Smith has also published nine books on many aspects of the law, with special emphasis on the Constitution and religious freedom. He earned his law degree from Yale University and his B.A. from Brigham Young University.
Levinson holds the Garwood Centennial Chair in Law at the University of Texas Law School at Austin. He taught politics at Princeton University and in numerous programs abroad, and he has held several visiting professorships.

Levinson has written seven books and hundreds of articles, reviews and commentaries on many constitutional issues, with a special emphasis on flaws in the U.S. Constitution and the need for a new constitutional convention. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard, his J.D. from Stanford and his B.A. from Duke.
“Smith and Levinson are two of the most renowned experts on the constitution in the country,” said Dr. Christopher Lynch, professor and head of the Department of Political Science and Philosophy. “Both are experts not only on the U.S. Constitution but on constitutions as such.”
The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be available at 3:30 p.m., and the event will start at 4 p.m.