Problem Solving and Storytelling in Constitutional Law Courses

The author’s primary methods to teach Constitutional Law are problem solving and storytelling. He selected Farber, Eskridge, and Frickey’s Constitutional Law: Themes for the Constitution's Third Century and continues to use it in part because it includes both stories and problems. The author also selected this particular casebook because it places the individual rights materials before the materials on federal powers. He wanted to experiment with this reversed order and thus far has been satisfied – largely because the rights materials engage student interest better than the powers materials.

They also set a more contemporary and practical tone for the course that focuses students on issues they are more likely to confront in practice. In addition, this casebook is more compact than most other constitutional law casebooks and contains more useful background information and other guidance for students. And, as a bottom line, the author believed that the casebook’s approach to the subject would support the type of academically rigorous and challenging course presentation to which he is committed. In general, the author’s experience with the Farber, Eskridge, and Frickey casebook has confirmed all of his initial reasons for selecting it.