The Utah Valley University Center for Constitutional Studies will host a conference called Federalism on Trial: Lessons from COVID-19 on October 21-22 via a virtual platform.
The Utah Valley University Center for Constitutional Studies will host a conference called Federalism on Trial: Lessons from COVID-19 on October 21-22 via a virtual platform.
The two-day conference is open to students and the community and will feature more than 22 prestigious federalism scholars including Gary Gerstle of Cambridge University, John Kincaid of Lafayette College, and Carmel Shachar of Harvard Law School. Attendees will learn how COVID-19 has affected American federalism, the system that unites state and federal government.
“COVID-19 has brought American federalism into the national and international spotlight,” said Andrew Bibby, assistant professor of political science and director of the Federalism Project. “Our goal for this conference is to explore how our constitutional structure is holding up under pressure in light of a pandemic that has exposed the strengths and possible limitations of our complex intergovernmental system.”
Breakout sessions will include October 21 — Understanding federalism, COVID-19 and the U.S. Constitution; Federalism, COVID-19 and political culture; and Federalism, liberty, and public health. October 22 — The economics of reopening, state and local leadership of COVID-19; and American federalism looking forward.
Those attending will learn more about how federalism gives them a voice, how government committees and associations find solutions to everyday problems, how the Constitution promotes civic participation, and how divided government systems are working to keep us safe during the pandemic.
The event is free to the public and can be accessed at this link: https://www.uvu.edu/ccs/federalism2020/. Afterward, the conference will be uploaded to the Center for Constitutional Studies UVU YouTube page.
About the Center for Constitutional Studies
The Center for Constitutional Studies at UVU, established in 2011, is a nonpartisan academic institute that promotes the study of constitutionalism. With the goal of increasing constitutional literacy, the center hosts various events and guest speakers and conducts significant research on the principles of federalism.
