July 7, 2026

Professor Conklin quoted in BBC

Professor Carli Conklin was recently quoted in a story by BBC on the American Constitution: “The document was both political and philosophical, asserting the ‘separate and equal station’ of the new United States among the nations of the Earth, while also laying out the philosophical underpinnings for that assertion. As both Thomas Jefferson and fellow drafter John Adams stated, the Declaration was not asserting anything new. It was not intended to do so. These ideas were commonplace in Enlightenment Era discussions about politics and law, with many of these ideas stretching back millennia. What was new was…

April 14, 2026

Professor Conklin publishes essay in History Now

Professor Carli Conklin published the lead essay in the latest issue of History Now: The Journal. Professor Conklin’s piece, “The Harmonizing Sentiments of the Day”: The Declaration of Independence and the Pursuit of Happiness,” discussed the historical origins of the Declaration of Independence and who can be attributed with the ideas included therein. History Now is aimed at getting leading history scholarship out to K-12 educators and the general reader. Read a full copy of her article here.

July 17, 2025

Professors Lietzan, Vacca, Conklin added to leadership team

University of Missouri School of Law Dean Paul Litton has announced three new appointments to his leadership team: Professor Erika Lietzan has been named Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Development; Professor Ryan Vacca will serve as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; and Professor Carli Conklin will serve as Director of the Center for the Study of Dispute Resolution. “I’m thrilled to add such accomplished scholars and teachers to our leadership team,” Dean Litton said. “Professor Lietzan brings an outstanding record of scholarship and mentoring to the position. She will support our first-rate scholars and…

Jan. 3, 2020

Reviewers: Prof. Conklin’s new book “Outstanding Academic Title of 2019”

CHOICE, a publishing unit of the Association of College & Research Libraries, which is a division of the American Library Association awarded Professor Carli Conklin’s latest book, The Pursuit of Happiness in the Founding Era: An Intellectual History (University of Missouri Press, 2019) with an “Outstanding Academic Title of 2019” award. In the CHOICE review, Conklin’s conclusions and nuanced treatment receive specific praise. “Conklin offers a deep and rich analysis that persuasively demonstrates that the pursuit of happiness was far more than a substitute for property. Ultimately, she concludes, the contemporaneous understanding of happiness encompassed…