Northwestern Constitution Day Sept. 19

September 13, 2023

Constitution Day at Northwestern Oklahoma State University is Tuesday, Sept. 19, at noon in the Student Center Ballroom. Admission is free and open to all.

The program, sponsored by the Social Sciences Department and the Northwestern Institute for Citizenship Studies, is titled, “The U.S. Constitution and the Historic Issue of State and Federal Power.” As its name indicates, this year’s observance will involve an exploration of the ever-changing landscape of American Federalism from a constitutional perspective and how it continues to be affected in light of modern events.

“We will examine how the relationship between the federal and state governments has changed over time and consider both standard and alternative views of the relationship between federal and state power,” Dr. Aaron Mason, professor of political science, said. "The current Supreme Court has issued a number of rulings that have impacted our current understanding of certain issues associated with federalism. We will explore some of these issues and rulings in this year's Constitution Day Event."

Dr. Nathan Coleman of the University of the Cumberlands will be the guest speaker. Coleman is interested in the Anglo-American constitutional and ideological development of the 17th and 18th centuries, especially the era of the American Founding. Coleman also specializes in contemporary leadership theory and application. He has published two books, both dealing with the conception and political debates over federalism. He is currently working on two projects, a short biography of Thomas Burke and the other focused on the competing languages of Nationalism and State Sovereignty in the 18th- and 19th-century United States.

For more information, contact Mason at mason@nwosu.edu.

-NW-

CONTACT FOR RELEASE
Erin Davis, University Relations Specialist
eedavis@nwosu.edu, 580-327-8480