Lara Schwartz Sr Professorial Lecturer Department of Government
- Additional Positions at AU
- Director, Project on Civil Discourse
- Degrees
- AB, English and American Literature, Brown University 1993
JD, Harvard Law School 1998 - Languages Spoken
- English and Legalese
- Favorite Spot on Campus
- Garden behind Kay
- Favorite Place in Washington DC
- In the shade
- Book Currently Reading
- Christine Sneed, Please be Advised- A Novel in Memos
- Bio
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Lara Schwartz specializes in civil discourse and campus speech, constitutional law, civil rights, politics, communications, and policy. Drawing on her experience as a legislative lawyer, lobbyist, and communications strategist in leading civil rights organizations, Lara brings an advocate’s-eye view to her teaching.
Prior to joining the SPA faculty, Lara served as Director of Strategic Engagement at the American Constitution Society for Law & Policy. Previously she served as Courts Matter director at Media Matters, Legal Director at the Human Rights Campaign, and Vice President of External Affairs at the American Association of People with Disabilities. Lara worked in litigation at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, and Flom and Gilbert, Heintz, and Randolph. She also served as a law clerk to Judge Ronald Lee Gilman on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit. Lara has appeared on national and local radio and television programs and written op-eds published in national papers and local papers of record. She is the co-author of "How to College: What to Know Before You Go (And When You're There)." from June 2019-June 2020 she was a fellow at the University of California National Center for Free Speech and Civic Engagement.
- See Also
- #SpeechMatters Conference Panel "Furthering Civil Discourse in Higher Education"
- Listen to Lara on The Kojo Nnamdi Show
- Lara discusses false equivalency on the Half Hour of Heterodoxy podcast
- For the Media
- To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.
Teaching
Fall 2022
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GOVT-352 Law and the Political System
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HNRS-050 Honors Supplement
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SPA-220 The American Constitution
Spring 2023
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GOVT-352 Law and the Political System
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SPA-075 Changemakers Series: Freedom of Expression
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SPA-220 The American Constitution
AU Experts
Area of Expertise
Civility and civil discourse; free speech on college campuses; judicial nominations; LGBT rights; disability rights
Additional Information
Lara Schwartz teaches in the Department of Government and is the Director of the Project on Civil Discourse. Prior to joining the SPA faculty, she served as Director of Strategic Engagement at the American Constitution Society for Law & Policy; Courts Matter director at Media Matters, Legal Director at the Human Rights Campaign; and Vice President of External Affairs at the American Association of People with Disabilities. Prof. Schwartz has appeared on national and local radio and television programs the Diane Rehm Show, C-Span Washington Journal, the Kojo Nnamdi Show, and CNN. As a ghost-writer, she has published dozens of op-eds in papers of record such as the Boston Globe, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Hartford Courant, Los Angeles Times, among others. Under her own byline, she has published in legal journals such as the Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law and the Savannah Law Review. In addition to publications such as the DC Legal Times, and Huffington Post, she has been a guest blogger for the blogs of the American Constitution Society and the American Association of University Professors.
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.