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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Introduction to Key Constitutional Concepts and Supreme Court Cases by University of Pennsylvania

4.8
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1,286 ratings

About the Course

This course offers an introduction to the U.S. Constitution and landmark Supreme Court cases interpreting it. It explores the Constitution’s origins, its amendment over the years, and methods of constitutional interpretation. Topics include the nature and structure of the federal government, the powers of the federal government, and individual rights....

Top reviews

GS

Jun 20, 2020

This course was very didactic and easy to understand. I liked the way that the different theories about each subject were presented, allowing me to build my own opinion and perspective on each matter.

SJ

Jul 21, 2017

Professor does a great job and in explaining the complexities. He does not take any partisan stand and does a great job and giving prominence to all sides of the argument. Enjoyed the course throughly

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1 - 25 of 355 Reviews for Introduction to Key Constitutional Concepts and Supreme Court Cases

By A-A-ron

Dec 30, 2016

In my search for a good class to help me lay a better foundation of my constitutional understanding I had originally enrolled in Yale's The Written Constitution. The professor was incredibly knowledgeable and delved deep into constitutional principles, but was incredibly difficult to follow because his course had no structure, slides or outline. I dropped that course because of the professor's long, tangent and filler-word filled lectures. However, I hadn't abandoned my search for a solid class teaching Constitutional concepts. What I found was this course provided by the University of Pennsylvania.

Professor Roosevelt provides interesting content and a higher level overview of the Constitution and important Supreme Court cases. The lectures follow a very good structure, introducing topics, key points and then reviews them at the end of each lecture. There are also videos, animations and interviews that break up the monotony of the lecture so you're not just listening to a talking head ramble for 20 minutes at a time. I've only completed the first week. However, I can say without a doubt that this was the course on the Constitution I was looking for.

By Entendendo D

Dec 9, 2018

Excellent course. I am very happy with this opportunity. The classes were clear and easy to understand. Congratulations to Cousera for this incredible partnership with the University of Pennsylvania for the promotion of Constitutional Law.

By Sridhar J

Jul 22, 2017

Professor does a great job and in explaining the complexities. He does not take any partisan stand and does a great job and giving prominence to all sides of the argument. Enjoyed the course throughly

By Svetlana I J D

May 10, 2020

Mil gracias al jurista Kermit Roosevelt por compartir con generosidad su gran cultura y su extraordinario desempeño académico en este curso. Logró resumir de manera brillante las características y condiciones fundamentales del Derecho Constitucional Norteamericano y las difíciles y complejas circunstancias sociales que lo generan. Siendo los EEUU un actor definitorio de la política mundial es bueno entender como el liberalismo constitucional norteamericano se diferencia del liberalismo constitucional europeo o latinoamericano.

By Kaushik D

May 15, 2019

The material of the course was presented in an easy and well constructed manner, letting each and every user of the platform, be rendered capable of learning the concepts to the best of their abilities. I highly recommend this course to anyone wishing to gain a Introductory Insight into the Key Constitutional Concepts and Supreme Court Cases in the United States.

By Yigal L

Jul 12, 2019

Professor Washington III delivered an excellent review of key constitutional issues. His presentation of different legal point of views really helped me understand the underlying issues in many court decisions. As someone who was not born in this country, I am delighted in gaining more than just an "overview".

By Karina L G

Apr 17, 2018

The professor is amaaaaaazing! Maybe it has something to do with being a roosevelt~I enjoy the way he arranges and presents course content. as well as the bold, matter-of-factly fashion that he makes comments on some historical episodes that are known to draw mixed feelings

By Ronald S

Sep 24, 2018

Prof. Roosevelt is amazing. I wish there were 4-5 more of these courses on Constitutional law, each with a different emphasis. I feel like I learned a lot about my country by taking this course.

By Doreen G

Dec 11, 2016

This is a great introductory or refresher course. Everything is put forth in an easy-to-understand concept. It was beneficial to me to compare key cases and how society affected them. Thank you.

By Kate A

Mar 8, 2017

The lectures were great and the quizzes asked tough but fair questions. I am looking forward to using the knowledge I gained to enhance my teaching of government at the high school level.

By sanket v

Aug 17, 2018

it is one of the interesting course that i have ever came across! if any individual want to learn the basic and fundamentals of american constitution then he must join this course.

By Deleted A

Oct 24, 2019

Chronologically organized lecture which used non legalese terms made the basics or key concepts of the US Constitution, its evolution and modern application easier to understand.

By Law B

Aug 6, 2019

Unfortunately, I was pretty dissapointed by the estremism liberalilstic views of the assigned teacher, no wonder he does not practice Law

By Abg. J L R C

Mar 31, 2019

This course helped me to understand the evolution of the constitutional law of the United States of America, where the historical moment set the tone for the decisions taken. While it is true, many obey political interests and for supposed political moments, as in the case of World War II, it is no less true that the same system has sought to re-establish the rights of those people who might have been injured those rights. I consider it very important that many people at the international level (I am from Venezuela) approach this course, study it and of course internalize this process of the laws and their amendments because simply, the State has the faculty to self-regulate, legally speaking and of course, always respecting the will of the people. I congratulate all the people who contributed to the design of this course, it is quite complete and of simple understanding. Thank you very much.

Sincerely

Lawyer specialized in Labor Procedural Law

José Luis Rodríguez Castillo

Caracas, March 31, 2019

Venezuela

Twitter: @joseluisroca72

Linkedin: jlrc.win@gmail.com

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator

By Natarajan S

Aug 24, 2020

Natarajansangiah , this is one of the greatest courses I have learned online. I love the spontaneous flow of the lectures offered by the Professor who teaches the " key concepts of American constitution and the Supreme Court cases. Especially the artful narration of the death of the founder's constitution and the New birth of the New constitution! When I watched the movie , " Lincoln ", I admired the leadership qualities of President Lincoln and held him in highest esteem.

This cours surprisingly taught me hither to unknown facts. Though I am an admirer of the Declaration of Independence, and the freedom movements I never failed to notice the inherent contradiction in the founders Nobel ideals and their hypocrisy! Can liberty and slavery walk hand in hand? The Professor who taught the course has cleared my doubts and brought about clarity on the subject. And now really understand the significance of President Lincoln's contributions to American democracy. I owe a great deal to the Professor . He is remarkable teacher!

By Liz R

Feb 25, 2021

I thought this course was terrific. As a non-American I had long been curious about the reverential status that the Constitution seems to hold for Americans, but knew very little of its content. This course was particularly strong in explaining the main phases in the development of the powers of the people, the states and the federal government, how these changed over time and why. It was less successful in convincing me that the Constitution and Supreme Court are the right tools to be addressing major social issues, but there is probably a good reason for that. The issues selected and discussed were interesting and relevant to today's social landscape (and not just in the US). I found Professor Roosevelt highly engaged and engaging, and he did a decent job of explaining some apparent inconsistencies in key decisions over the years.

By Dalia S

Jun 27, 2020

This course is very instructive and interesting, and I have truly enjoyed it more than I expected! It motivated me to pick US Constitutional Law as a module at university next year to learn more about it. Professor Kermit Roosevelt did an amazing job and his passion and expertise made the course even more fascinating. He went through the topics in sufficient detail while giving us an insight of what the people thought at the time or what other perspectives might be by showing us short clips. It was also interesting to see related locations within Philadelphia. The structure of the videos with the recaps at the end were also very useful. The course was overall great and did not take very long to complete, which was convenient. I urge anyone to sign up for it as you will not regret it. Thank you!

By Guy G

Dec 23, 2021

I appreciated to objective approach of presenting multiple sides to most of the topics/issues without providing a hard-and-fast conclusion.

The course showed that a lot of what the ‘average American’ thinks is in the Constitution isn’t. Most of what we think of as 'Constitutional Rights' are actual the results of Supreme Court decisions.

It also showed that the Constitution/Amendments are a living document that changes as the country matures, and our beliefs and prejudices change, and that the need for changes through amendments and Supreme Court rulings was anticipated by the Founding Fathers and needs to continue to keep the Constitution in line with the time and the will of The People.

I’ve already recommended this course to several people.

By James B

Aug 12, 2021

This is a very good course, and is taught in a very effective, engaging, and balanced manner. The supplemental materials for each lecture were relevant and interesting.

Professor Roosevelt framed the lecture topics in ways that clearly illustrated Constitutional principles, examined the conflicting views in cases that came to the Court, and articulated the Court's decisions. His discussion of the progression from the Articles of Confederation to the Framers' Constitution to the Reconstruction Amendments was especially good.

Though I am a lawyer and have continued to read Constitutional Law (judicial decisions and law review articles) throughout my legal career, I learned new things that deepened my understanding of some of the concepts covered.

By Michael D

Jul 15, 2022

One of the best courses I have taken on the Coursera platform. Professor Roosevelt is an exceptional instructor, and above all is an exceptionally fair lecturer, who does not limit his lectures to a single point of view or skew them so that the listener will always arrive at some predetermined conclusion.

The course not only covers the Constitution and constitutional issues in depth and breadth, but the production is first-rate and is at the level where this could (and probably has) be presented on television. It isn't just some thrown together series of lecture notes with a few slides thrown in. Each lecture is interesting and applicable to the world we live in. I highly recommend this course.

By Paul D

Oct 15, 2017

I was a Phi Beta Kappa in undergraduate school and a straight-A honors student in graduate school, but I must say that this is one of the BEST courses I have ever taken. Having no background in law prior to taking this class, I was amazed at the clarity with which Professor Kermit Roosevelt III presented some very complex topics to my complete understanding. The quizzes are very instructional and, at times, thought-provoking. The professor deals with current issues as well as the historical basis for Supreme Court decisions in changing times. I would highly recommend this extraordinary class to anyone who wants an introduction to key Constitutional Concepts and landmark Supreme Court cases.

By Jessica M

Jun 10, 2021

10/10; I learned a lot and would absolutely recommend this course! Professor Kermit Roosevelt explained the Constitution and various Supreme Court cases in a way that was not only easy to digest, but also fun and engaging. I'm leaving this course wanting to learn more about these topics, and dive deeper into some of the Supreme Court cases that have helped shape our nation as we know it. I'm an anthropology major who knows virtually nothing about American history because it has always bored me - I'm realizing I need to go back and brush up on my history. My deepest gratitude to Professor Roosevelt for putting this course together; no one has ever made the Constitution so fun.

By Filipe D O P

May 17, 2020

Curso de ótima qualidade, mesmo que realizado de forma rápida. Aborda questões profundas de modo objetivo, ajudando os cursistas a absorverem e a refletirem sobre diversos temas importantes para a evolução da sociedade americana, e mundial de um modo geral.

Quero deixar o meu agradecimento a todos que compõe a equipe do Coursera, por ter me cedido a bolsa permitido realizar o presente curso.

Agradeço também a Universidade da Pensilvânia, e ao professor Kermit Roosevelt III que abrilhantou o curso, nos trazendo todo o seu profundo conhecimento acerca dos temas constitucionais, e questões sociais relacionadas.

Filipe de Oliveira Pinto

By JoAnne E R

Nov 30, 2017

I found this course very interactive and on point with the important SC cases. The Professor draws the student in and encourages the student to research more. I would like to take more courses from this Professor and I would to continue studying Constitutional Law. Is there a certificate with this course? Please notify me should the Professor continue teaching. This Professor certainly has the attention of his student body. Although I had to take off for awhile, I recovered myself and eagerly returned to the course. This Professor is ideal. I move forward to the future with him.

By Howard M C

Jun 1, 2020

This was an outstanding course. I have always wanted to study the Constitution and its amendments. By simply reading it I would never have been able to appreciate it in the way this course presents the material. By placing the information in both an historical and social context it becomes alive and extremely interesting. Thank you so much for your efforts in putting this course together in the way that you did. You are an excellent educator and we are all better citizens because of your efforts.

Howard Cushner, retired Physician and Colonel, US Army