Announcing the Final Examination of Adrienne Mathews for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the department of Sociology.
Originalism is a legal framework of constitutional interpretation that re-emerged in the United States in the 1970’s as part of the conservative legal movement. In the decades since, originalism has grown in prominence both in government institutions and interest groups. Using critical discourse analysis, this research identifies the frames and narratives developed in originalism and examines how those frames and narratives are used by network members in friend of the Court briefs in Shelby County v. Eric Holder 2013 and Students for Fair Admissions v. Regents of Harvard University 2022. This research finds three dominant frames in the originalist literature and demonstrates how these frames are deployed in amicus briefs in support of the petitioners in each of the two cases. This research provides a sociological perspective on the use of originalism and how it is used to reverse civil rights gains.
Committee in Charge:
Dr. J. Scott Carter, Chair
Dr. Shannon Carter
Dr. David Embrick
Dr. Michael Armato
Dr. Angela Vergara
Read More