"This is hands-down the best seminar/conference I have attended."
"I never had the chance to learn any of this in law school."
"This was one of the most impactful weeks of my professional life."
"This seminar made me think about the law more than some of the semester-long law school classes did."
"The originalism boot camp is the premiere forum to educate the next generation of constitutionalist lawyers."
"If I am presented with an originalism question during my clerkship, I have a good understanding of how to approach the question and begin the applied research."
"Considering how widely accepted textualism and, to a lesser extent, originalism has become in recent years, I think every participant has a leg-up on other law students/clerks/practicing lawyers."
Originalism Summer Seminar
Through lectures by the nation’s preeminent originalist scholars and litigators, luncheon discussions, and visits to the United States Supreme Court, the Originalism Summer Seminar--a “Boot Camp” on the Theory and Practice of Originalism--exposes elite law students and recent graduates to state-of-the-art originalism and alternative approaches to constitutional interpretation.
Originalism Summer Seminar
The Georgetown Center for the Constitution will offer a week-long “Boot Camp” on originalism in theory and practice, open to students and recent graduates (within 5 years) from all law schools.
The seminar takes place each May and begins with an opening reception followed by academic sessions taking place each day of the week.
| Applications to the 2025 Originalism Summer Seminar are now closed. Applications for the 2026 Originalism Summer Seminar will open this winter. |
Requirements
- Current law students who will have completed their first year of law school by the start of the program or recent graduates (within 5 years); PhD candidates are also eligible
- Interest in a judicial clerkship is not required but is preferred
Learn About the Seminar
2024 Summer Seminar Highlights
- Meeting with Associate Justice of the Supreme Court: Neil Gorsuch
- Originalism Summer Seminar Alumni Panel
- Originalism Applied: Research Project with Professor Mark Moller
- Debate: The Positivist Case For and Against Originalism
(Professors Stephen Sachs and Sherif Girgis) - Corpus Linguistics Exercise with James Halpern
- Debate: Common Good Constitutionalism versus Natural Law Originalism (Professors J. Joel Alicea and Connor Casey)
- Practitioner Panel: Erin Murphy, Deepak Gupta, and Robert McNamara
Summer Seminar Lecture Topics
- Overview of Originalist Theory (Professor Lawrence Solum)
- Normative Rationales For Originalism (Professor Randy Barnett)
- Responses to Progressive Criticisms of Originalism (Professors Solum and Barnett)
- Public Meaning Originalism (Professor Solum)
- Original Methods Originalism (Professor Mike Rappaport)
- Framework Originalism (Professor Jack Balkin)
- How to Choose a Theory of Constitutional Interpretation (Professor Cass Sunstein)
- Demonstrably Erroneous Precedent (Professors Solum and Barnett)
- How to do Originalist Research (Professor Jud Campbell)
- Applying Corpus Linguistics: The Original Meaning and the Establishment Clause (Professor Stephanie Barclay)
- Liquidation (Professor Will Baude)