Martha Nussbaum: The 2008 Nora and Edward Ryerson Lecture

On May 14, Martha Nussbaum presented the 2008 Nora and Edward Ryerson Lecture. The Ryerson Lectures grew out of a 1972 bequest to the University by Nora and Edward L. Ryerson, a former Chairman of the Board. The University's faculty selects each Ryerson Lecturer based on a consensus that a particular scholar has made research contributions of lasting significance. Video of Professor Nussbaum's lecture, which was  entitled "Equal Respect for Conscience: The Roots of a Moral and Legal Tradition," is embedded below, and an .mp3 is also available.

Comments

[Jon Rowe]

I just got the book! Looks to be a great read. I like her notion (something I've trumpeted on the blogsphere for a few years) that equality-neutrality is the driver behind the Establishment Clause. This is important because in order for the clause to properly incorporate (something which Justice Thomas and a few others have raised powerful reasons as to why it should not) it must relate to "rights," and equality is that right.

As Prof. Amar put it in his seminal book on the matter, even if the EC didn't properly incorporate, the EPC could still do much of what the Court has the EC doing because it is equality rights that the clause vindicates.