Department of Political Science

Professor Failer's interests lay at the intersection of public law, political philosophy, and ethics and public policy. Her dissertation explored the problem of specifying who qualifies for which rights by examining the practice of civil commitment of the homeless mentally ill. She aims to propose a more adequate justification of why people qualify for rights and full citizenship. Professor Failer has presented her research related to homelessness and rights-talk at the New York University School of Law and at annual meetings of the American Political Science Association. In addition, she has co-authored an article in Educational Policy on the failure of political efforts to desegregate the public schools in Yonkers, New York. Professor Failer teaches courses on constitutional interpretation, the politics of civil liberties, ethics and public policy, and jurisprudence. Professor Failer is an assistant professor in Political Science and American Studies.