Notre Dame Center for Citizenship & Constitutional Government’s Post

My doctoral dissertation, "The Spirit of Caste," was awarded the American Political Science Association's 2024 Edward S. Corwin Award for Best Dissertation in Public Law! I am truly honored and humbled to receive this recognition. The project, a study of African American-led movements for racial justice across the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, argues that social mobility is a bedrock value of the American legal system. My doctoral research will be the basis of my legal scholarship over the next several years, as well as a book, which I can't wait to bring into the world!

Ubuntu represents the idea that an individual's humanity is deeply tied to the humanity of others, emphasizing community, interconnectedness, and mutual caring. It underscores the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity, promoting values such as compassion, respect, and empathy. In the context of social and political philosophy, Ubuntu is often invoked to support social justice, reconciliation, and community cohesion. #ubuntu #umuntungumuntungabantu #munhumunhumuvanhu

What a powerful speech

The notion of communalism isn't confined to a single African tribe; it's an intrinsic part of the cultural fabric that resonates across the African continent. This communal spirit, akin to a powerful force, is embedded in the DNA of all Africans. It's a testament to a worldview where the existence and identity of one person are inextricably linked to that of others. As humans, our existence gains meaning through our connections with others. Humanity isn't about living in isolation but recognizing that we are all branches of the same tree. This interconnectedness compels us to constantly support one another, embodying a sense of unity and shared purpose. This brings to mind the poignant question from the TV show "New Amsterdam": "How can I help?" It's a call to action that invites us to be each other’s keepers and to strive for harmony and togetherness in our daily lives. In J.B. Priestley's play, "An Inspector Calls," the inspector poignantly reminds us, "One Eva Smith has gone - but there are millions and millions of Eva Smiths and John Smiths still left with us, with their lives, their hopes and fears, their suffering and a chance of happiness, all intertwined with our lives, what we think, say and do. We do not live alone. We are members of one body. We are responsible for each other. And I tell you that the time will soon come when, if men will not learn that lesson, then they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish. Good night." These words resonate with a powerful message: our actions ripple through the lives of others, and we share a collective responsibility. We are interconnected, part of a greater whole. Recognizing this, we must act with empathy and a commitment to the well-being of others, for our lives are intertwined in a complex web of shared experiences and mutual impact. By embracing this interconnectedness, we foster a world where we are all custodians of one another's happiness and suffering, learning to live in harmony and unity.

NEW on Wonkhe: For Lawrie Phipps, Donna Lanclos, and Richard Watermayer a new ranking of individual academics is a troubling development in a changing academic landscape https://lnkd.in/eQTRjb8m "Academic worth, reduced to a series of impersonal metrics, risks not only obscuring genuine scholarly contributions but also reinforces the very inequities they claim to address"

Don't forget to get your copy of Punch Newspaper today! In it, I discuss Neo-Stigma and the challenges facing traditional art practices.https://https://lnkd.in/dhW8ef9V to Oluwole, the government, especially the Ministry of Education, must reintroduce subjects focused on arts, culture, and history into secondary school curricula to serve as the foundational building blocks of a child’s education.

New on Wonkhe: For Lawrie Phipps, Donna Lanclos, and Richard Watermayer a new ranking of individual academics is a troubling development in a changing academic landscape https://lnkd.in/ecxCwGen "Academic worth, reduced to a series of impersonal metrics, risks not only obscuring genuine scholarly contributions but also reinforces the very inequities they claim to address"

“If you’re trying to understand the past, the present often gets in the way and the past often gets rewritten to make itself useful to the present.” This quote from Professor Seth Tillman got me thinking. I came across it in a biographical essay on Tillman in Tablet Magazine. You can read the essay here: https://lnkd.in/gKGHehhB. Despite its title, the article has little to do with politics. Instead, it is a portrait of an independent thinker and legal scholar who dispassionately approaches his work without fear of parting from prevailing views. (For a TL;DR summary, see Josh Blackman’s Volokh Conspiracy post about the “thinker whose mind hasn’t been corrupted by politics”: https://lnkd.in/gCXzNi3Q.) There is much to admire in the man. From Tillman’s careful approach to scholarship to his personal piety, he is someone worth learning about. It was this quote, though, that jumped out at me. It reminded me of the excerpts my undergraduate history professor Dr. James Buss had me read in David Lowenthal’s book The Past is a Foreign Country. It is so easy to see whatever we want in the past. But this confirmation bias is but a symptom of a deeper problem. We take this cheap, flea-market approach to history because truly studying the past is hard. Just think of the swirling milieu of influences at work on us now. Internal, external, local, regional, national, international forces all impact our daily lives. And yet we barely know half of them. To study the past, then, requires us to detatch ourselves from these forces and inquire into the forces and actions at play at a different time and place. No wonder the past is more foreign than we realize. The lesson Dr. Buss was teaching (as I recall a decade removed) was the need for humility and detachment when studying the past. The same holds true for lawyers. Most of what we do as lawyers, and especially as litigators, involves competing views of the past. As we gather facts it takes conscious detachment to evaluate them. As we build our cases, it takes cold analysis to scrutinize the evidence and law. And as we uncover more evidence, it takes humility to recognize that our initial impressions could be wrong. It’s not easy. But humble detachment is as necessary for lawyers as it is for any other student of the past. It’s just part of the job. #LawyersofLinkedIn #History

Classes are back in session, and colleges and universities across the country are girding themselves for reignited student activism. Perhaps no university has become more synonymous with the crisis of the moment—and an American higher education system in seemingly irreversible free fall—than Columbia University. But, despite the challenges it faces and the doomsday predictions about its future, I continue to believe in Columbia for one simple reason: It cannot be a bad thing when more people claim an ownership stake in an institution’s future. Columbia should not overlook the promise that comes with a heightened sense of community citizenship, even though the exercise of that citizenship can sometimes be undertaken imperfectly. In this moment, Columbia has a chance to invite interested stakeholders into the fold; to engage in rigorous self-examination with an eye towards helping the organization meet new and emerging challenges; and to affirm and practice the long-standing values that have allowed it to thrive for generations: open discourse, respectful debate and disagreement, and the unwavering pursuit of truth. Read my latest op-ed in the Columbia Daily Spectator https://lnkd.in/egvMPxZT

This past week, I have officially started my Master's (LL.M.) in Public International Law at Queen Mary University of London. I am deeply honoured to study at such a renowned institution, surrounded by brilliant faculty members and students from all over the world. I would like to thank all those who have supported and encouraged me on this journey. #LLM #QMUL #PublicInternationalLaw