A Symposium on Jonathan Gienapp's Against Constitutional Originalism: A Historical Critique
April 11, 2025
Yale Law School
Professor Jonathan Gienapp (Stanford History and Law School)—a leading legal and intellectual historian of early America—has become notable in recent years for a series of methodological and historical attacks on originalism as an approach to constitutional interpretation. His new book, Against Constitutional Originalism: A Historical Critique (Yale University Press, 2024), consolidates and expands upon his earlier writing, arguing that “recovering Founding-Era constitutionalism on its own terms fundamentally challenges originalists’ unspoken assumptions about the U.S. Constitution.”
This conference will celebrate Gienapp’s book, allowing both opponents and proponents of originalism to come together and consider the implications of its critique. The conference will also consider the significance of Gienapp’s work for the legal history of early America and for how History and Law should interact as disciplines more broadly.
Symposium Schedule
Opening Remarks
- YJLH Executive Editors
Panel 1 (9:00-10:30) – Originalism, Interpretation, and the Court
- Thomas Colby
- Lawrence Lessig
- Lawrence Solum
- Moderator: Keith Whittington
Panel 2 (10:45-12:15) – Constitutionalism at the Founding
- Mary Sarah Bilder
- Mark Peterson
- Stephen Sachs
- William Ewald
- Moderator: Claire Priest
Panel 3 (1:45-3:15) – Unwritten Constitutionalism and the Nature of the Union
- Kevin C. Walsh
- John Mikhail
- Maggie Blackhawk
- Moderator: Jack Balkin
Panel 4 (3:30-5:00) – Historians, Originalists, and the Politics of the Past
- Reva Siegel
- Cass R. Sunstein
- Logan Sawyer
- Moderator: John Witt
Closing Remarks (5:15-5:45)
- Jonathan Gienapp