Project Proposal:

American and French constitutional revolutions in the eighteenth century. Comparative analysis of texts: analogies and differences. Adjunct supervisor: Katia Fiorenza, Phd, Associated Professor of Comparative Law

The United States Declaration of Independence of 1776 – document with which begins the process that will lead to the birth of the United States of America – and the Declaration of the Right of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 – the first constitutional document approved by the just born Constituent Assembly during French Revolution and after applied in almost European countries as Italy- are the fundamental steps at the origin of modern democracies. All democratic states are based on some principles asserted in these two documents. Moreover, Declaration of the Right of Man and of the Citizen was evidently inspired by the United States Declaration of Independence. American, French and other european countries revolutionaries influenced each other. But between the United States and French original constitutional identity there are not only common elements. Comparative reading and analysis of these two documents – as well as the principal steps of the two constitutional revolution they were born - can be a good opportunity to think deeply about the United States and European common constitutional and democratic identity as well as about the deep differences and their cultural and historical motivation. Normally, we consider United States and European democratic culture as components of the same “Western Culture”. What we find reading today these two documents? How similar we are? How different we are?

For this topic, readings in English, as well as in Spanish and French, if the students know these languages, will be submitted to the MIT students, to then organize a debate - which would include an intervention in which to comment on the readings made - in the field of the activities of in-depth study of Professor Ciancio’s course of “Legal History”, aimed at interested teachers, graduate students and students of other courses of the Department and the University.

Personal page of Professor Cristina Ciancio: https://www.unisannio.it/en/user/811/curriculum

Personal page of Professor Katia Fiorenza: https://www.unisannio.it/sites/default/files/sito/ateneo/utenti/profilo-titoli/katia-fiorenza/curriculum/Curriculum_Fiorenza_%28italiano-inglese%29.pdf

[1] Lawrence Burns, “Gunther von Hagens’ BODY WORLDS: selling beautiful education, May 2007, The American Journal of Bioethics 7 (4):12-23