Sibley Lecturer to examine political campaigning and the Constitution

Monday, March 13, 2000

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Negative advertisements, vicious mudslinging, aggressive tactics--as the nation’s presidential

primaries move into full swing, our TVs are bombarded with the daily examples of modern American politics. But is this what the framers of the U.S. Constitution envisioned when they established elections in order to hold public officials accountable to the people? Or is it the antithesis?
Samuel Issacharoff, a constitutional and voting-law expert from Columbia University, will examine that timely topic in the School of Law’s 91st Sibley Lecture, to be held March 16 at 4 p.m. in the law school’s Hatton Lovejoy Courtroom. Issacharoff’s lecture, “Political Parties, the Constitution and Democratic Competition,” and the reception which follows are open to the public without an admission charge.
“The American Constitution presumes accountability for public officials through democratic elections, but oddly says nothing about how those shall occur,” says Issacharoff. “The original constitutional framework also presumed that political parties were an evil to be avoided at all cost. By contrast, 20thcentury constitutions give extraordinary attention both to how elections will be conducted and to the role of parties as integral actors in the democratic process. Much of the 20th-century constitutional jurisprudence governing the political process may be seen as an effort to fill in these major gaps in the original constitutional design.”
Issacharoff will present his theory that the Constitution must be understood as carrying a guarantee of effective competition in the political system. He will address the issue in the context of the challenge to the California blanket-primary requirement currently before the U.S. Supreme Court in Jones v. California Democratic Party.
Issacharoff teaches constitutional law, voting rights and redistricting law, complex litigation, legal process, civil procedure and employment law at Columbia. He earned his law degree from Yale University, where he served as editor of the Yale Law Journal. After completion of a federal judicial clerkship, he practiced federal court litigation until 1989. He joined the faculty of the University of Texas School of Law in 1989 and the Columbia Law School in 1999.
“We are excited about the prospect of such a well-recognized legal expert joining us to present his views on this extraordinarily important and timely topic,” says Paul Kurtz, associate dean of the UGA law school. “Sam Issacharoff continues in the proud tradition of the Sibley Lecture series.”

--Kathy R. Pharr

African Women in Global Society

The African Studies Program conference on “African Women in a Global Society” will bring to campus a number of African women scholars to discuss their research on African women. The presentations will focus on the ways in which patriarchy has affected African women across historical, geopolitical, economic, social and cultural backgrounds. All sessions are in Masters Hall
of the Georgia Center for Continuing Education.
The first session, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. March 21, will deal with “Conceptual Approaches on Women and Gender Issues in Africa.” Panelists are Philomina Okeke, University of Alberta; Joy Kwesiga, Makerere University, Uganda; and Osonye Tess Onweume, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
That afternoon from 2 to 5 p.m., the second session will focus on “Language, Gender and Culture.” Participants include Obioma G. Nnaemeka, University of Indiana; Omofolabo Ajayi-Soyinka, University of Kansas; and Lioba Moshi, University of Georgia.
At 6 that evening, Teboho Moja, special assistant to the South African Minister of Education, will speak about “Women in Education and Politics in a Transformed Society.”
The third session, on “Science, Technology and Production of Knowledge,” will include Josephine Beoku-Betts, Florida Atlantic University; Caroline Lang’at, Kenyatta University, Kenya; and Christine Dranzoa, Makerere University, Uganda. It is scheduled for 9 a.m.-noon March 22.
The final session of the conference will take place March 22, 1:30-4:30 p.m. It will focus on “Emergent Fields in Education and the Public Sector.” Participants are Assie Lumumba, Cornell University; Zandile P. Nkabinde, Salt Lake Community College; and Rose Chepyator-Thomson, University of Georgia.
A reception will follow the final session at 4:30 p.m. in the banquet area at the Georgia Center. UGA’s Adaegwu Dancers will perform.

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