A Great Tool for Government, History and World Cultures Courses
Community Review for Constitute
My Take
This is a great tool for students to use within the context of a larger project. I enjoy the quick ability to search the constitutions based on preset topics. It helps give instant perspective and comparison with other nations. The ability to compare to the US constitution (and others) is invaluable. It is helpful for students to begin immediate analysis of various nations and their ideals. Although constitutions for nations can be found anywhere online this site has a level of interaction beyond the simple pdf files. This is a modification of what is already publicly available. They are slowly adding historical constitutions which can help increase the usefulness of the site. If those improvements continue then the site can be useful for classes that focus on events centered in history such as the French Revolution or the dissolution of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. As it stands the focus sits on events primarily in the 20th century due to the modern nature of many constitutions. The site is best used in conjunction with other material such as news articles or general histories. For example, when reading the DPRK's constitution the question arises of what is "juche"? Really all of the material needs to be placed within larger contexts. The site is a tool for not only beginning to understand other nations but the start of analysis on how and why they tick.
How I Use It
This a great tool for comparing, analyzing and informing students on countries of interest. The website allows for specific topics to be searched within the constitutions of various countries across the world. How are elections run in Turkey vs the USA or India? How can a constitution be changed in Latvia? There is a lot in there. The subcategories are dense. It is best used with specific questions in mind. There is almost too much complicated information to be analyzed without clear objectives and guidance. These are living primary source documents that should be treated as such.