On September 17, 2010 Dr. Philip Dynia gave a talk entitled "In Defense of a Living Constitution" to commemorate Constitution Day.  He discussed the most popular alternative theory of constitutional interpretation - originalism - and suggested why it was inadequate.  He argued that living constitutionalism - a focus on a common law style of constitutional interpretation relying on precedent and evolving political understandings of what the Constitution requires -- is more faithful to the intentions of the Framers and also better explains how some of our most important contemporary constitutional law principles were developed.

Dr. Dynia has been with the Department of Political Science since 1970.  His major field of interest is American Politics, with a concentration in courts and constitutional law.  He authored several entries for the Encyclopedia of the U.S. Supreme Court (Salem Press, 2000), The Encyclopedia of Civil Liberties (2004), and Congressional Quarterly's Encyclopedia of the First Amendment (Congressional Quarterly Press, 2006).  He is currently working on a study of perennial issues in American constitutional interpretation.