A debate on “Has the War on Terror Undermined the U.S. Constitution” will be the focus of this year’s Constitution Day program on Friday, Sept. 21, at 11:45 a.m. in 201 Riley Hall at Linfield College.
The debate will feature Steve Knott, professor of national security affairs at the United States Naval War College, and Ofer Raban, professor of law at the University of Oregon Law School. The debate will center on the question: is the war on terror consistent with the letter and spirit of the Constitution?
Knott’s most recent book, “Rush to Judgement: George W. Bush, the War on Terror, and His Critics,” was published last spring. He served as co-chair of the University of Virginia’s Presidential Oral History Program and directed the Ronald Reagan Oral History Project. Knott received his Ph.D. in political science from Boston College, and has taught at the United States Air Force Academy and the University of Virginia.
Raban’s recent publications include “Constitutionalizing Corruption” (on the Citizens United decision) and “Cloak of National Security Obscures Logic.” Raban received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, and his D.Phil. in legal philosophy from Oxford University. He worked as a prosecutor in New York before returning to teaching. Raban taught law at the University of Oxford and the University of Utah, among other places.
This event is free and open to the public, but food is available on a first come, first served basis and space is limited. Please RSVP to douglassforum@gmail.com.
The debate is sponsored by the Frederick Douglass Forum on Law, Rights, and Justice, launched by the Department of Political Science to provide opportunities for students, faculty, staff and the public to participate in discussions of the rule of law, individual rights and competing conceptions of justice. This event will be co-sponsored by the PLACE pilot project on “The Legacies of War,” the Office of Academic Affairs, and the Jack Miller Center Constitution Day initiative.
For more information, contact Nick Buccola, assistant professor of political science, 503-883-2246, nbuccol@linfield.edu.
