History 211, “US Constitutional History,” with Professor Matthew Pinsker, meets at Dickinson College during fall semester 2025 on Mondays and Thursdays at 3pm. Course texts include Gordon Wood, Power and Liberty (2021) and Eric Foner, Second Founding (2019), as well as various essays and articles by other noted scholars. Students will also navigate dynamic web resources created by the House Divided Project at Dickinson College. During the semester, students will write multiple essays on how the constitution has changed and evolved since its creation in 1787.
Banner image from Howard Chandler Christy’s oil painting,“Signing of the Constitution,” (1940), which hangs in the US Capitol. John Dickinson is featured by the window on the right side, his head set off against the green curtain. But note that even though Dickinson was a signer of the Constitution, he was not actually present on September 17, 1787. Here is a key to the 40 figures depicted in the painting.
Prof. Pinsker with his constitutional umbrella and penumbra of rights
