Recent Books on the Constitution
Randy E. Barnett has taught a seminar titled 'Recent Books on the Constitution' each fall since 2005, initially designed to help him stay current with constitutional scholarship. The seminar involves reading six books over the semester, with authors invited to discuss their work, and emphasizes critical engagement through student summaries and critiques. Barnett finds the format mutually beneficial for students and faculty, and encourages other law professors to adopt similar seminars using virtual platforms.
- ▪Randy E. Barnett has assigned 105 books by 96 authors in his seminar since 2005.
- ▪Five books assigned for fall 2026 include works by Eric Claeys, Paul DeHaret, Richard Primus, Louis Michael Seidman, and Sarah Isgur.
- ▪Authors are invited to participate in class discussions, often joining via Zoom, and students submit critiques that are shared with them before the session.
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Recent Books on the Constitution My seminar picks for 2026 (and every year since 2005) Randy E. Barnett | 5.3.2026 10:03 AM Each fall, I teach a seminar called Recent Books on the Constitution. I initially designed this course when I visited Georgetown in 2005. At that time, because I tend to read what relates directly to my current projects, I felt that I was not keeping up with the literature. By assigning recent books on the Constitution to read as part of my teaching, I would actually read them. This has really worked for me. I have now read a lot of books on the Constitution. The complete list of all the books I have assigned is below.
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