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Are America’s Checks and Balances Holding?

Explore how shifting power among Congress, the presidency, and the judiciary is testing America’s constitutional checks and balances.

  • Higher Education
  • Event
  • On-demand
  • Political Science-American Government
  • 45 Minutes
  • On-Demand Video

Description

Watch as we celebrate Constitution Day with a panel discussion with McGraw Hill’s renowned authors of American Democracy Now.

Fractures in Democracy: Are America’s Checks and Balances Holding?
As the nation marks Constitution Day, how well are the Constitution’s checks and balances working today?

Watch Brigid Harrison, Jean Harris, and Michelle Deardorff, as they discuss the examination of the roles of Congress, the presidency, and the judiciary, and what shifting institutional power may mean for constitutional government and American democracy.

About Your Speaker

  • Brigid Harrison

    Brigid Callahan Harrison is Department Chair and Professor of Political Science and Law at Montclair State University, where she has taught since 1994. She is the founder of the Policy Studies program, a multi-disciplinary program that incorporates curriculum from throughout over a dozen departments in the University. She is the author of American Democracy Now, one of the leading introductory political science textbooks in the United States.

  • Jean Harris

    Jean Harris's research interests include political socialization and engagement, federalism and intergovernmental relations, and the gendered nature and effects of U.S. politics. Jean has taught introductory courses in local, state, and national government and upper-level courses in public administration, public policy, and judicial politics for the Political Science Department at the University of Scranton.

  • Michelle Deardorff

    Michelle D. Deardorff is the Adolph S. Ochs Professor of Government and Department Head of Political Science and Public Service at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC). Since earning her PhD from Miami University, Dr. Deardorff’s teaching and research have focused on the constitutional and statutory protections surrounding gender and race, as well as exploring the insights provided by political theory.  She particularly enjoys teaching classes and engaging with the public in ways that allow people to apply their understandings of law, politics, and political theory to current events, believing an important role of a university is to foster thoughtful citizens prepared to participate in governing our communities and nation. Michelle attempts to ensure that all of her work in the classroom, on campus, in her research, and with the community advances this larger goal of advancing democracy, meaningful discourse, and equality.