Biography
Aziz F. Rana
Associate Professor of Law
Aziz Rana's research and teaching centers on American constitutional law and political development, with a particular interest in the intersection of citizenship with topics in national security and immigration. His book, The Two Faces of American Freedom (2010) (paperback, 2014), was published by Harvard University Press and situates the American experience within the global history of colonialism, emphasizing how notions of republicanism and expansion have shaped U.S. law and politics since the founding. His current book project explores the modern rise of constitutional veneration in the twentieth century -- especially against the backdrop of the U.S.'s emergence as a global power -- and how veneration has shaped the boundaries of popular politics. He has written essays and op-eds for such venues as The New York Times, The Nation, Salon.com, CNN.com, and N+1. He has recently published articles and chapter contributions (or has them forthcoming) with Yale University Press, California Law Review, and Texas Law Review among others. Prior to joining the Cornell faculty, he was an Oscar M. Ruebhausen Fellow in Law at Yale. He received his A.B. summa cum laude from Harvard College and his J.D. from Yale Law School. He also earned a Ph.D. in political science at Harvard, where his dissertation was awarded the university's Charles Sumner Prize.
Education
A.B., Harvard University, 2000
J.D, Yale Law School, 2006
Ph.D. (Government), Harvard University, 2007