What are some of the ethical issues that you are grappling with in your research? What are some of the ways in which you are responding to these questions?
My research revolves around the idea that a small group of people not representative of the United States populace in the 18th century are making long-lasting decisions about how best to run that country. It's difficult to recognize that the subject I love partially contributed to the inaccessibility of these debates and ideas through its language-barrier. However, I hope that my research will shine a light for those both acquainted and unacquainted with the field to begin to shatter those barriers and recognize the limitations of the Classical school of thought.
As you continue your research, have you considered alternative viewpoints in your investigation? If so, how have these alternative viewpoints enriched or changed your project?
Although scholars are fairly unified on the idea that the Classics were a formative influence for the Constitution, many stress that certain ideas (such as mixed-government) were the most important contributions and that classical allusions were used more as ornamentation for other debates. These perspectives have allowed me to identify gaps in arguments and to refine my focus.
Where does your research take place?
Hello! My name is Van Muller and I am a sophomore in Columbia College from Atlanta, Georgia. I intend on majoring in both Classics and Political Science on the Reception and American Politics/Theory tracks respectively. My project this summer analyzes the debates that formed the United States Constitution through the lens of Classical allusion and aims to evaluate the extent to which those allusions informed the founders about methods of good government.
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