Gerald N. Rosenberg (born 1954) is an American

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

and

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

professor at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

, and the

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

of the 1991 book ''The Hollow Hope''.

Education and career

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

, Summa Cum Laude graduate of

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...

, he holds an M.A. degree in Politics and Philosophy from Oxford University, a J.D. degree from the

University of Michigan Law School The University of Michigan Law School (Michigan Law) is the law school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1859, the school offers Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Comparative Law (MCL ...

and a Ph.D. in Political Science from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. He is also a member of the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

bar. Rosenberg spent the 2013–14 academic year as a visiting professor at the National Law School of India University in

Bangalore Bangalore (), List of renamed places in India, officially Bengaluru (), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan area, metropolitan population of a ...

, India. In the 2002–2003 academic year he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to teach U.S. Constitutional Law at the Law School of

Xiamen Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an ...

University in Xiamen, Fujian, P.R. China. He has also served as a visiting fellow in the Law Program, Research School of Social Sciences,

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

, Canberra, Australia, 1995–1996. He has lectured extensively, including at the U.S. Supreme Court and in venues in Australia,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, China,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

The Hollow Hope

''The Hollow Hope'' challenges the widely held belief that the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

is an effective agent of social change. Rosenberg builds an argument that the Supreme Court is structurally constrained from producing social change even when social change plaintiffs win their cases. Focusing on famous Supreme Court cases, particularly

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...

and

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...

, ''The Hollow Hope'' argues that they didn't produce the significant social reforms that proponents claim for them, and that in fact did result in the wake of those landmark decisions. ''

The Hollow Hope ''The Hollow Hope: Can Courts Bring About Social Change?'' was written by Gerald N. Rosenberg and published in 1991. A highly controversial work, it produced labels ranging from "revolutionary" to "insulting." A Second Edition of the book was pub ...

'' was awarded the Gordon J. Laing Award from the University of Chicago Press in 1993 for a book published by a

faculty member that brings the greatest distinction to the Press. It was also given the Wadsworth Award by the Law-Courts section of the American Political Science Association (for a publication ten years or older that has made a lasting contribution) in 2003. In addition, Rosenberg is a 1993 recipient of the Llewellyn John & Harriet Manchester Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching from the

. He is also the lead author of a video textbook on American Politics, ''American Government'' (with Mark Rom & Matthew Dickinson) (Thinkwell, Austin,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, 2001, revised edition, 2007), as well as over thirty articles and book chapters.

External links

UChicago law faculty pageUChicago political science faculty page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenberg, Gerald N. 1954 births Living people Yale Law School alumni University of Chicago faculty American legal scholars American legal writers University of Michigan Law School alumni Fulbright alumni