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Dennis J. Goldford 208 Meredith Hall Cell Phone: 515/240-3676 E-Mail Address: dennis.goldford@drake.edu |
Dennis Goldford has been at Drake since 1985. He received his B.A. in political science and philosophy from the University of Michigan, an M. Litt. in philosophy from Oxford University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Chicago.
TEACHING
Prof. Goldford teaches in the areas of political theory and constitutional law, and his
current course offerings include the following:
Politics 180, Classical Political Theory
Politics 181, Modern Political Theory
Politics 184, Philosophical Foundations of Marxism
Politics 185, American Political Theory
Politics 186, Politics and Religion
Politics 189, The Political Theories of American Conservatism
Politics 190, Fall 2006 Seminar in Constitutional Law: The Religion Clauses
Politics 190, Spring 2007 Seminar in Constitutional Law: The Right to Privacy
Politics 190, Spring 2008 Seminar in Constitutional Law: Federalism and the Nature of the American Union
Prof. Goldford has written The American Constitution and the Debate Over Originalism, published by Cambridge University Press in April 2005. Located at the intersection of law, political science, philosophy, and literary theory, this book is a work of constitutional theory that explores the nature of American constitutionalism and constitutional interpretation through a reconsideration of the longstanding debate between originalism and nonoriginalism. The American Constitution and the Debate Over Originalism traces that debate to a particular set of premises about the nature of language, interpretation, and objectivity, premises that raise the specter of unconstrained, unstructured constitutional interpretation that has haunted contemporary constitutional theory. The book presents the novel argument that a critique of the fundamental premises of originalism dissolves not just originalism but nonoriginalism as well, thus forcing the recognition that constitutional interpretation is already and always structured. To make this argument The American Constitution and the Debate Over Originalism takes as its master concept the constitutive character of the Constitution, an innovative concept that is the key to accounting successfully for both the democratic character and the binding capacity of the Constitution. With this concept the book eliminates the specter of unstructured constitutional interpretation and presents a novel account of what it means to say that Americans are a people who constitute themselves as a people in and through the terms of a fundamental text.
RESEARCH
Prof. Goldford's current research deals with two topics in political and constitutional theory. First, in the area of politics and religion, he is exploring the question whether a truly secular society is possible. Specifically, does a political-legal system have the capacity to be neutral regarding religious belief, or does it always and necessarily constitute the establishment of a set of religious beliefs? If the latter, then what are the consequences for the American concept of religious freedom? Second, in the area of federalism, Prof. Goldford is exploring the questions whether there is a principled, constitutionally coherent theory of the structure of the American union, and, relatedly whether the current conflict over federalism can be fruitfully understand as a reassertion, of the competing visions of the structure of the union held by Federalists and Antifederalists.
Prof. Goldford regularly participates on scholarly panels at the annual meetings of the American Political Science Association, the Midwest Political Science Association, and the Iowa Conference of Political Scientists. He also has served as a manuscript reviewer for the Journal of Politics, Political Research Quarterly, and for various publishers such as HarperCollins, Houghton Mifflin, and McGraw-Hill.
POLITICAL ANALYSIS
During the 2007-8 election cycle Professor Goldford provided analysis for the following newspapers, magazines, and wire services: Agence France-Presse, Ames Tribune, Albuquerque Journal, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Asahi Shimum (Japan), Associated Press, Baltimore Sun, Bloomberg News, Boston Globe, Buffalo News, Burlington Hawkeye News, Campaigns and Elections, Charlotte Observer, Cedar Rapids Gazette, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Colorado Statesman, Columbus Dispatch, Congressional Quarterly, Copley Newspapers, El Correo (Spain), Cox Newspapers, Dallas Morning News, Delaware News Journal, Denver Post, Des Moines Business Record, Des Moines Register, Detroit News, Dow Jones Newswire, Gannett Newspapers, Harris News Service, Hartford Courant, The Hill, Houston Chronicle, Iowa Independent, Kansas City Star, Kiplinger, Las Vegas Sun, Lee Newspapers, London Daily Telegraph, Los Angeles Times, McClatchy, Miami Herald, Milwaukee Journal, El Mundo (Spain), National Journal, National Post (Canada), New Jersey Star Ledger, New York Daily News, New York Post, New York Times, News Max Magazine, Newsday, Newsweek, Omaha World Herald, Philadelphia Inquirer, Le Point, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Politico, Pravda (Slovak Republic), La Presse (Canada), Quad City Times, Raleigh News Observer, Reno Gazette Journal, Reuters, Rolling Stone, St. Louis Post Dispatch, San Diego Union Tribune, Santa Fe New Mexican, Stateline, Stevens Media, Sud-Deutsche Zeitung (Germany), Time Magazine, Toronto Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, The Tribune (Paris), US News and World Report, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Washington Times, Waterloo Courier Journal, The Weekly Standard, Wisconsin State Journal, Yomiuri Shimbun (Japan); and newspapers from Belgium, Italy, Poland, and Sweden.
Also during the 2007-8 election cycle Professor Goldford was interviewed by the following broadcast organizations: ABC (Australian TV), ABC News, Al-Hurra, Al-Jazeera, Al-Jazeera International, Arkansas Public Radio, Associated Press TV, Australian National Radio, BBC, Bloomberg Radio, Bloomberg TV, Capital Tonight (NY), CBS News, CNN, C-SPAN, CTV (Canada), Detroit Public Radio, Deutschlandfunk, Fox News, Fox News Edge, HD News, Iowa Public Radio, ITN (Britain), Kansas City Public Radio, KCCI-TV (Des Moines), KFAB radio (Omaha), KMBC-TV (Kansas City), KMOX Radio (St. Louis), KOA radio (Denver), KSTP radio (Twin Cities), Minnesota Public Radio, MSNBC, NBC News, National Public Radio, New Hampshire Public Radio, The News Hour (PBS), Radio America, Radio Iowa, WBBM-TV (Chicago), WCCO radio (Minneapolis), WDEL radio (Delaware), WHO radio (Des Moines), WISN TV (Milwaukee), WTMJ TV (Milwaukee), Wisconsin Public Radio, XM Radio; and Finnish TV, Irish TV, and Korean TV.
Prof. Goldford is frequently asked to speak on political matters to business groups, clubs, and other organizations.