Jennet Kirkpatrick

LAPA Visitor, 2005-2006
Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton
University of Michigan

University of Michigan, Department of Political Science, 7758 Haven Hall, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1045
jennetk@umich.edu
phone: (734) 615-9143
Website

Professor Kirkpatrick's primary research considers the concept of law through an examination of periods of American history when the rule of law temporarily failed. Her work focuses on episodes of mob rule when the people -- more accurately a subset of the people -- claimed to take the law back from the state and author it anew. These events raise questions about the risks of assuming an authorial relationship to the law and suggest a re-consideration of law, popular sovereignty, and democratic legitimacy. In particular, the project considers how the relationship between citizens and the law in a democracy might be conceptualized without invoking the metaphor of authorship.

In addition to her interest in legal and democratic theory, Professor Kirkpatrick's research and teaching interests include American political thought and feminist theory. She holds a B.A. in Politics from Mount Holyoke College and a doctoral degree in Political Science from Rutgers University.