UNM-Los Alamos Lecture Explores Federalist Papers and Modern Governance

Eighty-five essays written to sell a constitution to skeptical voters in 1788 will get a fresh examination Monday evening, when UNM-Los Alamos brings the Federalist Papers to the SALA Event Center as part of its My Favorite Lecture Series.

The event, titled "The Continuing Relevance of the Federalist Papers: The Science (and Art) of Politics," runs from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. on April 13 and is open to students, faculty, civic leaders, and general residents. The format follows the series' standard structure: a 30-to-40-minute presentation followed by Q&A, designed for broad public engagement rather than a specialized academic audience.

The Federalist Papers, authored by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay under the collective pseudonym Publius, remain among the most-cited primary sources in constitutional law and political theory. Their core arguments span separation of powers, federal-state relations, constitutional design, and the mechanics of political representation. The lecture's dual framing as both "science and art" signals an intent to treat those arguments not as settled history but as active tools for analyzing how governance functions today.

In Los Alamos, that question carries particular weight. The county's economy and civic identity are built around Los Alamos National Laboratory, a federal institution subject to overlapping layers of congressional authority, executive agency oversight, and contract administration. For public servants and researchers who work within those structures daily, the constitutional debates of 1787 have a concrete operational dimension that rarely surfaces in general civic conversation.

The My Favorite Lecture Series at UNM-Los Alamos typically draws on faculty and invited scholars to make a single subject accessible without assuming prior expertise. Monday's session fits that model, offering a structured entry point into constitutional reasoning for teachers, students, and policy-minded residents alike.

The SALA Event Center is in Los Alamos. Additional event details, including any registration requirements, may be available through UNM-Los Alamos' event calendar.