Berns studies political philosophy, constitutional law, and legal issues. He is the author of Making Patriots, a discussion of the history and philosophy of
patriotism.
Professional Experience
-Professor Emeritus, 1994-present, John M. Olin University Professor, 1986-1994, Professorial Lecturer, 1979-1986, Georgetown University
-Faculty, University of Chicago, 1984, 1989; University of Toronto, 1969-1979; Colgate University, 1970; Professor of Government, 1959-1969, Chairman, Department of Government, 1963-1967, Cornell University; Yale University, 1956-1959; Louisiana State University, 1953-1956
-Member, Judicial Fellows Commission, 1986-1988
-Member, National Council on the Humanities, National Endowment for the Humanities, 1982-1988
-Consultant, Task Force on Judicial Selection, Twentieth Century Fund, 1988
-Member, Board of Directors, Institute for Educational Affairs, 1980-1988
-Member, Joint Committee Project ’87, Joint undertaking of the American Historical Association and American Political Science Association to commemorate the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution, 1987
-Consultant, United States Department of State, 1983-1987
-Lecturer, Phi Beta Kappa Society Lecture Series, 1985-1986
-Member, Council of Scholars, Library of Congress, 1981-1985
-Alternate U.S. Representative, United Nations Commission on Human Rights, 1983
-Guggenheim Fellow, 1978-1979
-Advisory Board Member, National Institute of Law Enforcement, 1974-1976
-Fulbright Fellow; Rockefeller Fellow 1965-1966
-Lecturer, Salzburg Seminar in American Studies, 1959
-Carnegie Teaching Fellow, 1952-1953
- U.S. Navy, 1941-1945
Selected TV and Radio
ABC Nightline
PBS Think Tank
Education
M.A. and Ph.D., University of Chicago
London School of Economics and Political Science
Reed College
B.S., University Iowa
Articles and Short Publications
Why America Celebrates Lincoln
The Case for Keeping the Electoral College
Making the Case for Keeping the Electoral College
Books
Democracy and the Constitution
After the People Vote
Making Patriots
Events
Abraham Lincoln at Two Hundred
Transatlantic Law Forum: Citizenship in Europe and the United States
Democracy and the Constitution: Essays by Walter Berns
[List All]
Speaking Engagements
Lincoln at Two Hundred
Proposals for Electoral College Reform
Patriotism