John E. Finn
Department of Government
Wesleyan University
Middletown, CT 06459
jfinn@wesleyan.edu
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Education:
Princeton University
Ph.D. in Political Science (1986)
Dissertation: Constitutions in Crisis: Political Violence and the Rule of Law.
M.A. in Political Science (1983)
Georgetown University
J.D. (1981)
Honors: Georgetown Law Journal
Nasson College
A.B. in Political Science (1978)
Honors: summa cum laude
French Culinary Institute
Grand Diplome (1996)
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Academic Positions:
Professor of Government Emeritus
Professor of Government, Wesleyan University 1986-2017
Chair of Department, 2009-2011
Acting Chair of Department, 2007
Visiting Lecturer in Political Science, University of Michigan 1983;
1985
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Books:
Fracturing the Founding: How the Alt-right Corrupts the Constitution (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019).
The Perfect Omelet: Essential Recipes for the Home Chef (New York: Countryman Press, 2017).
Peopling the Constitution (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2014).
American Constitutional Law: Essays, Cases, and Comparative Notes. with Donald P. Kommers, Gary J. Jacobsohn, George Thomas, & Justin Dyer. 4th ed. (West Academic Publishing, 2018).
Constitutions in Crisis: Political Violence and the Rule of Law. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991).
Work in Progress:
a) “The Constitution of Trust.” (research/book ms)
b) “Other Constitutionalisms.” (research/book ms)
Refereed Articles and Book Chapters:
“Trust in the Constitution: Some Preliminary Thoughts on Civic Trust as a Constitutional Good.” 2024 Critical Review, 1–44. https://doi.org/10.1080/08913811.2024.2419260
“The Other Preamble: Civic Constitutionalism and the Preamble to the Bill of Rights,” 2 Concordia L. Rev. 1 (2017).
“Some Notes on Inclusive Constitution Making, Citizenship, and Civic Constitutionalism,” in Jacobsohn and Schor, eds., Comparative Constitutional Theory (Elgar, forthcoming, 2017).
“Kitchen Confessionals and the Food Voice,” in The Food Voice, eds., Hauck and Deutsch (Bloomsbury, forthcoming, 2018) [revised version of item (l) below].
“How Does a Recipe Mean,” Table Matters: Food, Drink, Manners (2016), http://tablematters.com/2016/02/17/how-does-a-recipe-mean/.
“On the Care and Maintenance of Constitutions (Review Essay),” 51 Tulsa L. Rev. 101-114 (2015).
“Measurement,” in The Oxford Companion to Sweets, ed. Darra Goldstein (New York: Oxford, 2015).
“The Perfect Recipe: Taste and Tyranny, Cooks and Citizens,” 14 Food, Culture and Society: An International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 503-524 (2011).
“Sunset Clauses and Democratic Deliberation: Assessing the Significance of Sunset Provisions in Antiterrorism Legislation.” 48 Columbia J. of Transnational Law 442 (2010).
“Constitutions & the Judiciary,” in Martha Crenshaw, ed., The Consequences of Counterterrorist Policies in Democracies. (Russell Sage, 2010).
“Julia,” 7 Gastronomica 95 (2007).
“The Rule of Law and Judicial Independence in Newly Democratic Regimes.” 13 PEGS 12 (2004-05).
“The Kitchen Voice as Confessional.” 7 Food, Culture, and Society 85 (Spring 2005).
“The Civic Constitution,” in Constitutional Politics. Barber & George, eds. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001).
“Electoral Regimes and the Proscription of Anti-Democratic Parties,” in The Democratic Experience and Political Violence. David C. Rapoport & Leonard Weinberg, eds. (London: Frank Cass, 2001).
“A Comparative Constitutional Law Canon”? 17 Const’l Comm. 219 (2000) (co-authored with Donald P. Kommers).
“Transformation or Transubstantiation? Ackerman & the Puzzle of Constitutional Change.” 10 Const’l. Pol. Economy 355 (1999).
“Media Coverage of Political Terrorism: Reconciling the Public’s Right to Know with Public Order.” In Terrorism and the Media: Dilemmas for Government, Journalists, and the Public. Yonah Alexander, ed. (New York: Pergamon-Brassey, 1990).
“Federalism in Perpetuity: West German and United States Federalism in Comparative Perspective.” 22 New York University Journal of International Law and Politics 1 (1989).
“Public Support for Emergency (Anti-terrorist) Legislation in Northern Ireland.” 10 Terrorism: An International Journal 113 (1987). Reprinted in Dimensions in Irish Terrorism, ed. by Alan O’Day. (Aldershot: Dartmouth Publishing Company, 1993).
“Implied Rights of Action Under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.” 68 Georgetown Law Journal 1229 (1980).
Book Reviews: redacted
Conferences & Papers: redacted
Additional Scholarly Projects:
“The First Amendment.” 12 part audio lecture series on CD for the Teaching Company: The Great Courses (2012).
http://www.thegreatcourses.com/tgc/courses/course_detail.aspx?cid=9352
Chief Organizer and Moderator, “Food: Power and Identity.” Wesleyan University Shasha Seminar for Human Concerns (2008). http://www.wesleyan.edu/alumni/shasha/2008/
“Civil Liberties and the Bill of Rights.” 36 part lecture series on DVD/CD for the Teaching Company: The Great Courses (2006). http://www.teach12.com/tgc/courses/Course_Detail.aspx?cid=8530
Teaching Interests:
American Constitutional Interpretation
Civil Liberties
The First Amendment
Freedom of Religion
The Judicial Process
Jurisprudence
Comparative Constitutional Law
American Constitutional Theory
Culture & Cuisine
Food, Film, & the Body Politic
Invited Lectures and Testimony:
Testimony before the Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights, Committee on the Judiciary, United States House of Representatives, on the First Amendment and The FBI’s Investigation of CISPES. June 1988
Consultant and analyst for “A Conference on International Terrorism,” organized under the auspices of Columbia University and aired on PBS. January 1988
Seminar Instructor, Council for Basic Education Summer Institute on the Supreme Court. Institute designed to introduce Washington, DC public high school teachers to the nature of the judicial process and federal courts. June 1990
Lectures in the United States:
Claremont McKenna College, University of Connecticut, University of Connecticut Law School, University of Pennsylvania, University of Massachusetts, University of Michigan, New Mexico State University, Princeton University, University of Texas, State University of New York-Potsdam, Suffolk University School of Law, Northeastern University, Western Connecticut State University, Culinary Institute of America, New England Culinary Institute.
Lectures Abroad:
In France: Lectures and Seminars on Comparative Constitutional Law to Members of the Ukrainian Parliament 1996
In Spain: Lectures and Seminars on Comparative Constitutional Law to Members of the Ukrainian Parliament 1996
In Chile: Lectures on the Separation of Powers, Constitutionalism, and Re-democratization at several Chilean Universities, under the sponsorship of the Chilean Fulbright Commission. Summer 1989
In Bolivia: Lectures on Federalism in the United States, to the Bolivian Supreme Court, to the Bolivian Bar, and at several Bolivian Universities. Summer 1989
In England: Lecture and panel leader at the Wilton Park Conference on The Media and Political Terrorism, Wiston House, Sussex, England. January 1988
In Italy: Lecture on American federalism in comparative perspective on a conference on Federalism, Regionalism, and Different Autonomies, held at the Institute for the Study of Comparative Constitutional Law at the University of Palermo, Sicily. Summer 1985
Awards & Honors:
Binswanger Prize for Excellence in Teaching (2017); (1994)
Caleb T. Winchester Award for Excellence in Teaching (1997; 2004)
Carol A. Baker ’81 Award for Excellence in Scholarship & Teaching (1989)
Professional Memberships: redacted
Departmental & University Service: redacted
References:
Available upon request