Fired Up and Ready To... Teach! Barack Obama as Law Professor

Since we’ll be speaking at the University of Chicago very soon, we thought it would be topical to share with you the interesting responses we received to our earlier request for stories about presidential candidate Barack Obama as a U. Chicago law prof.
The general consensus: he’s awesome, as beloved in the classroom as he is on the campaign trail. Several raves appeared in the comments, and we also received some via email. First, from Professor D. Daniel Sokol (who also blogs, at the Antitrust & Competition Policy Blog):

I had Obama as a prof when I was at the University of Chicago for a seminar on race and the law. His title of Senior Lecturer is one that only a few people hold– the others are Richard Posner, Frank Easterbrook and Diane Wood — all former Chicago full time faculty members now on the 7th Circuit.

Obama was an amazing professor and in many ways, I wish I could be as effective in the classroom as he was. He engaged students in the material and showed great skill at eliciting good student comments and managing class discussion. Obama also integrated in social science empirical literature into our discussions to better inform some of the normative discussions that we had. I thought he managed intellectual diversity very well, as we had a spectrum of students from libertarians and conservatives on one hand to radicals on the other.

Additional anecdotes, plus a digression on Obama’s views on the Second Amendment and gun control, after the jump.


From a different tipster:

I had Barack in a seminar titled “Current Issues in Race and Law” in the winter of 04, one of the last classes he taught. He was thoughtful, engaging, and liked to doodle while listening to student presentations (always paying attention though, judging by the questions that he would ask at the conclusion of the presentation). He was good enough as a professor that students stuck around 30-40 minutes even though he would sometimes be late as he was running for in the senate primary at the same time. I’m looking forward to campaigning for him in Texas…..

Sure, tipster, go right ahead — although it doesn’t look like he really needs your help.
In addition to former students, law professors love Obama too. See here (cameo by Larry Tribe) and here (Cass Sunstein).
An interesting digression about Obama and Con Law, from yet another ATL reader:

After [the recent] shooting at Northern Illinois University, Obama has been speaking about gun violence. According to this AP article, he supports individual gun rights:

“The senator, a former constitutional law instructor, said some scholars argue the Second Amendment to the Constitution guarantees gun ownerships only to militias, but he believes it grants individual gun rights.”

“‘I think there is an individual right to bear arms, but it’s subject to commonsense regulation” like background checks, he said during a news conference.”

You had an interesting post and comments about Obama as a law professor last week. It would be interesting to ask if any of his students believes he has changed his opinion regarding the Second Amendment.

I’m actually an Obama fan but first and foremost a historian and a cynic.

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So, former Obama students: any recollections about Professor Obama’s views on the Second Amendment? We aren’t terribly surprised by his current middle-of-the-road stance. It’s worth noting that his former mentor, Professor Laurence Tribe, is one of several liberal legal academics who views the Second Amendment as protecting an individual right to own guns.
Barack Obama [The University of Chicago Law School Faculty Blog]
Obama Supports Individual Gun Rights [AP]
A Liberal Case for Gun Rights Sways Judiciary [New York Times]
Earlier: Candidates As Academics: ‘I Got A Crush On A Professor Named Obama’

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