Some may know that The Junto is a group blog about early American history. Today, it talks about using history to make constitutional law, focusing on Gordon Wood, Scott Gerber and my book. http://earlyamericanists.com/2013/04/04/constitutional-interpretation-and-historians/#more-3009
Some may be interested in the full interview on the subject here:
http://ssrn.com/abstract=2243254The interview explains why constitutional judgment should be understood as an artisan judgment, and why history isn't anything special to the venture. The discussion is very relevant to the prejudices that political scientists very often exhibit in this area. In fact, as between the following ideas that are out there -- judging as historic accuracy (originalism), as political attitudes/ideology (cynical view) or as compelling moral principles (Dworkin) -- the idea of connoisseurship presents a new way to move forward. It seems to resolve many of the problems.