Event Description
This seminar seeks to identify, analyze, and explain reasons for the decline of congressional power in American political life, starting with Franklin Roosevelt’s administration in the 1930s and 1940s and continuing to the present day. We’ll use audio, video, and textual sources to explore congressional decline in the last century, and we will also discuss the relationship between Congress and the other branches of the federal government—the presidency and the Supreme Court.
INSTRUCTORS:
KC Johnson is professor of history at Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center. He has published several books and numerous journal articles or book chapters on the 20th century Congress, in both the foreign and domestic realms.
Kevin J. McMahon is the John R. Reitemeyer Professor of Political Science at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. His most recent book, A Supreme Court Unlike Any Other: The Deepening Divide between the Justices & the People (2024), is the third book in a trilogy entitled Democracy in Court? Presidents & Justices (all with the University of Chicago Press).
LOGISTICS:
The seminar will be presented in person* at The New York Historical, 170 Central Park West, New York, NY 10024, on the following dates:
Friday, May 1, 2026 | 2–5 pm ET
Friday, May 8, 2026 | 2–5 pm ET
Friday, May 15, 2026 | 2–5 pm ET
Friday, May 29, 2026 | 2–5 pm ET
The seminar is designed for graduate students and junior faculty in history, political science, law, and related disciplines. All participants will be expected to complete the assigned readings and participate in seminar discussions. Although the Institute cannot offer academic credit directly for the seminar, students may be able to earn graduate credit through their home departments by completing an independent research project in conjunction with the seminar. Please consult with your advisor and/or director of graduate studies about these possibilities.
Space is limited. To apply, please submit the following material to ich@nyhistory.org by April 10, 2026:
Your C.V.
A short statement on how this seminar will be useful to you in your research, teaching, or professional development.
Successful applicants will be notified soon thereafter. For further information, please email Andrew Fletcher at ich@nyhistory.org.
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