CURRICULUM VITAE
JOHN E. SEMONCHE
October 2008
CONTACT INFORMATION
OFFICE: Department of History
CB# 3195, Hamilton Hall
University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC 275l5-3195
U.S.A.Phone: (919) 962-8079
Email: semche@email.unc.edu
Web: http://ibiblio.org/semche/history/jackweb.html
I. GENERAL INFORMATION
A. Education:
Colby College, 1951-52
Brown University, 1952-54 (A.B., magna cum laude, 1954)
Northwestern University, 1954-55 (M.A., 1955)
1958-60 (Ph.D., 1962)
Duke University, 1962-67 (LL.B., with distinction, 1967)
B. Military Service:
United States Navy, Lt. (jg.), 1955-58
C. Honors:
Phi Beta Kappa, 1954
Order of the Coif, 1967
EDUCOM/NCRIPTAL Higher Education Distinguished Software
Award, 1988
History computer simulations included in 101 Success Stories
Information Technologies in Higher Education:
The Joy Wyatt Challenge. Ed. by Judith V.
Boettcher. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1993.
Senior Fulbright Fellow, 2001.
D. Academic Positions:
University of Connecticut, 1960-61--instructor in history
University of North Carolina, 1961-63--instructor in history
1963-68--assistant professor of history
1967-78--lecturer in law (concurrent position in School of Law)
1968-73--associate professor of history
1973- --professor of history
E. Teaching and Research Specialties:
American constitutional and legal history
Law in American society
American history survey since 1865
F. Grants and Leaves:
Departmental research leave, Fall, 2000
Chancellor's Instructional Technology Grants, 1997, 1998
Departmental leave, Spring, 1992
Research leave, Spring, 1980
Faculty research grants (no leave provided)--four received (each
less than $500 - last received in 1975)
Research leave, Spring, 1970G. Institutes:
Social Science Methods in Legal Education Institute, Summer, 1972
H. Teaching Abroad:
School of Law, Pazmany Peter Catholic University, Budapest, Hungary,
Spring, 2001 as a Senior Fulbright Fellow
I. Additional Information:
Membership in United States Supreme Court Bar since 1996
Membership in North Carolina Bar since 1967
Part-time legal practice since 1967
II. PUBLICATIONS
A. Books:
Censoring Sex: A Historical Journey Through American Media.
Lanham, My.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2007.
Keeping the Faith: A Cultural History of the U.S. Supreme Court. Lanham,
My.: Rowman & Littefield Publishers, Inc., 1998. paperback ed., 2000.
(Chosen as an Outstanding 1998 book by Choice)
Religion and Constitutional Government in the United States. Carrboro,
N.C.: Signal Books, 1986.
Charting the Future: The Supreme Court Responds to a Changing Society,
1890-1920. Westport, Ct.: Greenwood Press, 1978.
Ray Stannard Baker: A Quest for Democracy in Modern America, 1870-
1918. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1969.
B. Computer Software and Manuals:
Simulations in American History l. 1865: Should the Southern States Be
Readmitted to the Union? San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,
Inc., 1987.Simulations in American History 2. June-December 1894: What Action
Should the President Take Concerning the Pullman Strike and Its
Aftermath? San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1987.
Computer Simulation in United States History Entitled "1912: Can
You Get Your State To Approve a Woman's Suffrage Amendment?"
Chapel Hill: S & S History Simulations, 1988.
C. Pamphlets: (edited with introductions)
Religion and Law in American History. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of
North Carolina, 1985. (published in connection with a National
Endowment for the Humanities grant for a project entitled "Church,
State and the First Amendment.")
"What is Law?" "Morality and Law," and "The Political Trial," in
Problems and Materials for Legal Process. University of North Carolina
School of Law, 1971, rev. ed., 1972.
D. Articles and Book Entries and Chapters:
(with Margaret A. Blanchard) "Anthony Comstock and his Adversaries:
The Mixed Legacy of This Battle For Free Speech,"  Communication Law
and Policy, 11 (Summer 2006), 317-66."The Senate and the Nominees,"  News & Observer, 28 September 2005, A17.
"Civil Rights and Civil Liberties," The Oxford Companion to American Law,
ed. Kermit L. Hall, 110-14. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002."American Law in the Nineteenth Century," A Companion to 19th-Century
America,ed. William L. Barney, 73-85. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishers, 2001."Time Traveling: Historians and Computers," History Microcomputer
Review 11 (Fall, 1995): 9-14.
"Joseph Hodges Choate," "Coyle v. Smith," "Frank v. Mangum,"
"Horace Gray," "Judiciary Act of 1891," "Meyers v. United States,"
"In re Neagle," "Northern Securities Co. v. United States,"
"Pacific States Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Oregon,"
"Selective Draft Law Cases," "Truax v. Corrigan," and "Weems v.
United States." In The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of
the United States, ed. Kermit L. Hall, 144-145, 205-206, 317,
345-346, 475-476, 569-570, 582, 600, 616-617, 769, 881, 922-923.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
"The Flag as Religious Symbol Versus the First Amendment as Holy
Writ: A Battle Among the Faithful," North Carolina Humanities
Review 1 (Fall, 1992): 57-70."Making History Come Alive: Designing and Using Computer Simulations
in U.S. History Courses," History Microcomputer Review 5
(Spring, 1989): 5-12.
"Bunting v. Oregon," "Louis D. Brandeis," and "Ernst Freund" in
Historical Dictionary of the Progressive Era, 1890-1920,
New York: Greenwood Press, 1988.
Review article on Liberty in America: 1600 to the Present, by Oscar &
Lilian Handlin, Constitutional History of the American Revolution:
The Authority of Rights, by John Phillip Reid, and Beyond
Confederation: Origins of the Constitution and American
National Identity, ed. by Richard Beeman, et. al., in
Constitutonal Commentary 5 (Summer, 1988): 483-90.
"Computer Simulations, The Teaching of History, And The Goals of a
Liberal Education," Academic Computing 2 (September, 1987): 20-23, 46-50.
"The Tie That Binds: A Bicentennial Appraisal of the U.S. Constitution,
The North Carolina Bar Quarterly 34 (Summer, 1987): 4-13.
Review article on Definition of Law by Hermann Kantorowicz, Vanderbilt
Journal of Transnational Law 14 (Winter, 1981): 239-44.
"Courts Should Leave Intact Carter's Power to End Treaty," in Durham
Morning Herald, November 28, 1979.
Review article on Government by Judiciary: The Transformation of the
Fourteenth Amendment by Raoul Berger, North Carolina Law Review
55 (October, 1978): 189-95.
"John S. Phillips," in Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement
Four: 1946-1950, ed. by John A. Garraty & Edward T. James,Review article on Oliver Wendell Holmes Devise History of the Supreme
Court of the United States: I. Antecedents and Beginnings to 18
by Julius Goebel, Jr., and VI. Reconstruction and Reunion 1864-
Part One by Charles Fairman, North Carolina Law Review 51 (December
1972): 375-386.
Review article on Warren: The Man, The Court, The Era by John D.
Weaver, and Earl Warren: A Political Biography by Leon Katcher,
North Carolina Law Review 46 (April, 1968): 299-306.
"Definitional and Contextual Obscenity: The Supreme Court's New and
Disturbing Accommodation," UCLA Law Review 12 (August, 1966):
1173-1213. (widely cited as authority on this subject)Review article on This Honorable Court: A History of the United States
Supreme Court, by Leo Pfeffer, Duke Law Journal, 1966 (Winter):
299-306.
"Common-Law Marriage in North Carolina: A Study in Legal History,"
American Journal of Legal History 9 (October, 1965): 320-349.
(cited in leading family law text as historical authority)
"Theodore Roosevelt's 'Muck-rake Speech': A Reassessment," Mid-America,
46 (April, 1964): 114-125.
"The 'American Magazine' of 1906-15: Principle vs. Profit," Journalism
Quarterly 40 (Winter, 1963): 36-44+.E. Standard Book Reviews:
American Historical Review -- seven
Journal of Southern History -- six
North Carolina Historical Review -- seven
Journal of American History -- thirteen
William and Mary Quarterly -- one
South Atlantic Quarterly -- one
New England Quarterly -- one
American Journal of Legal History--ten
History: Reviews of New Books--one The Historian--two
Maryland Historical Review--oneIII. RECENT TALKS AND PRESENTATIONS
"How the Media Shapes Life As We Know It," A panel discussion held as
  part of the Virginia Festival of the Book 2008 in Charlottesville,
  Virginia on March 28, 2008 in which each of four participants gave a
  ten-minute presentation followed by questions from the assembled group.
  (The discussion was televised).
"Supreme Court Appointments: A Historical Perspective," A presentation
  in the UNC School of Law as part of a panel on the Supreme Court
  Confirmation Process on September 19, 2005,as part of the
  University's celebration of Constitution Day.
"The Debate on the Constitution: Federalists vs. Antifederalists," A videotaped
  lecture on May 9, 2005 for a module in the U.S. Department of Education
  Teaching American History Grant, Learn More - Teach More,
  administered by the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.
  (THIS LECTURE AND THOSE THAT FOLLOW ARE AVAILABLE
  FOR VIEWING AT http://www.dlt.ncssm.edu/lmtm)"Secession from the Union, 1860-1861: The Causes and Rationale," A videotaped
  lecture on May 9, 2005 for a module in the U.S. Department of Education
  Teaching American History Grant, Learn More - Teach More,
  administered by the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics."The Internment of the Japanese in World War II and its Aftermath," A
  videotaped lecture on May 9, 2005 for a module in the U.S. Department of
  Education Teaching American History Grant, Learn More - Teach More,
  administered by the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics."The U.S. Supreme Court and Roosevelt's New Deal," A videotaped lecture on
  March 31, 2004 for a module in the U.S. Department of Education Teaching
  American History Grant, Learn More - Teach More, administered by
the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.
"Impeachment and Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton," A videotaped
lecture on November 14, 2003 for a module in the U.S.
  Department of Education Teaching American History Grant,
Learn More - Teach More, administered by the North Carolina School of
Science and Mathematics."The Bill of Rights," A videotaped lecture on May 2, 2003 for a module in the U.S.
  Department of Education Teaching American History Grant,
Learn More - Teach More, administered by the North Carolina School of
Science and Mathematics."The Supreme Court and Religion," A videotaped lecture on May 2, 2003 for a
module in the U.S. Department of Education Teaching American History Grant,
Learn More - Teach More, administered by the North Carolina School of
Science and Mathematics."The United States Supreme Court: Its Creation, Evolution and Major Cases
to 1835," A videotaped lecture on March 21, 2003 for a module
in the U.S. Department of Education Teaching American History Grant,
Learn More - Teach More, administered by the North Carolina School of
Science and Mathematics."Civil Liberties in Time of War: World War I and the Aftermath,"
Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Society
for Legal History, San Diego, California, November 8, 2002."Protecting Civil Liberties in Times of Crisis," Presentation at the Annual
Meeting of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, May 18, 2002."Constitutional Rights in Times of National Crisis: An Historical Perspective,"
A talk prepared for the Constitutional Rights and Responsibilities Section
Annual Meeting on February 15, 2002, part of a CLE program entitled
" Freedom and Security in 21st Century America: Are Our Individual
Liberties at Risk?"
"The Supreme Court: From Inside Out and Outside In," Presentation
"The Holmes Devise," Commentator, American Society for Legal
in The Tenth Annual Festival of Legal Learning Sponsored
by the School of Law, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
February 4, 2000.
History Annual Meeting, Toronto, Canada, October 22, 1999."The Supreme Court: Views From Within and Without," Presentation
in Continuing Legal Education Course Sponsored by the North
Carolina Department of Justice, the Legislative Services Office of the
North Carolina General Assembly and the Institute of Government
entitled Public Law and the Public's Lawyers, Raleigh, NC,
September 24, 1999."The Supreme Court and the Constitution: Promoting Unity Through Diversity,"
Law and Business & Finance Divisions, Special Libraries
Association Convention, Minneapolis, MN, June 9, 1999.
"The Flag as Religious Symbol vs. The First Amendment as Holy Writ,"
American Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication Annual
Convention, Boston, MA, August 12, 1991.
"The Potential of Computer Simulations to Teach History and the
Skills Associated with a Liberal Education," Canadian
Historical Association Annual Meeting, Victoria, B.C., Canada,
May 27, 1990."Encounters with the Past: Computers as Tools in Teaching History
as Part of a Liberal Education," 9th International Conference
on Computers and the Humanities, Toronto, Ont., Canada,
June 8, 1989.
"Computer Simulations in American History," IBM Conference on
Academic Computing, Princeton University, March 18, 1989.
Demonstration of Computer Simulation Programs, AHA Conference,
Cincinnati, OH, December 27-29, 1988.
"Ronald Dworkin's Law's Empire and its Value in Constitutional
Law," Seminar on Law's Empire, Chapel Hill, NC on September
24, 1988.
"Religion and Government in America," a half-hour radio program in the
"Soundings" series produced by the National Humanities Center,
RTP, NC and broadcast during the week of July 5, 1987."History of Church-State Relations in American Education," delivered at
IV. COMPLETED WORK: AWAITING PUBLICATION
Caldwell Community College, Hudson, NC on April 30, 1987.
"Constituting America: The Constitutional Convention," delivered as
part of the Program in the Humanities Weekend Seminar entitled
"The Founding Fathers" in Chapel Hill, NC on February 21, 1987.
Demonstration of Computer Simulations in American History, 11th IBM
University Study Conference (Academic Information Systems), at
Fort Lauderdale, FL on November 7-8, 1986.
"The American Constitution: A Bicentennial Appraisal," delivered at the
University of Bristol, England on March 10, 1986.
"The Supreme Court and the Law of Industrial Accidents, 1874-1919,"
American Society for Legal History Annual Meeting, Philadelphia,
PA, October 25, 1980.
Articles on Ernst Freund, Joseph McKenna and Isaac C. Parker for the
Yale Biographical Dictionary of American Law.V. WORK IN PROGRESS
Book tentatively titled "It Begins With a Gal and Ends With a Kis(s);
A Political Biography of Nick Galifianakis.""Let No Guilty Man Escape"--a play in three acts based upon the life of
Judge Isaac G. Parker. (Second revision completed)
Multimedia Lectures in U.S. history survey course.
VI. SERVICE TO THE UNIVERSITY AND DEPARTMENT
Committee to Evaluate the Dean of the School of Law, 2003
University Copyright Committee, 2001-2007
Participation in History Workshop for High School Teachers, 1992.
University Hearings Board, 1989-2006
Participant in various sessions arranged by the Program in the
Humanities, 1975-89
University Scholar's Workstation Committee, 1988-90
Presenter, Carolina Today program, 1988
Various departmental search and review committees, 1973-90
UNC-IBM Courseware Development Project, 1984-89
Graduate Studies Committee, 1988-90 (Director, 1989), 1972-75
Departmental Advisory Committee, 1989, 1977-79
Advisor to Carolina Symposium, 1988, 1965-66
Advisory Board, Media Center, 1985-86
Convener of the U.S. Field, 1983-84, 1977-80
Departmental Secretary, 1980-83, 1975-76
UNC Delegate, Institute for Applied History, 1978-79
Presentations for the Young Executives Institute, 1971-79
Dean's Committee on the Undergraduate Curriculum, 1978-79
Distinguished Professor Search Committee, 1977-80 (Chr., 1980)
University Committee on Scholarships, Awards & Student Aid, 1971-77
Chair, Subcommittee on Appeals, 1971-77
Subcommittee on Athletic Scholarships, 1971-77
Faculty Council, 1975
Departmental Self-study Committee, 1972-73
Faculty Council Ad-hoc Committee on Professional Responsibility, 1971
Subcommittee on Professional Schools, University Self-study, 1968-69
Employee Grievance Board, Chair, Appeal of Mrs. Thompson, 1968
VII. SERVICE TO THE PROFESSIONA. Recent service as project consultant:
Eduational Broadcasting Corporation d/b/a Thirteen/WNET New York, 2003
Educational Testing Service--Foreign Service Examination, 1993
UNC-NEH Project on the Constitution, 1985-87
National Federation of State Humanities Councils, 1983-87
Project '87, 1984-88
B. Recent service as editorial consultant:
Board of Editors, History Microcomputer Review, 1990-2006
Journal of American History
American Historical Review
Congressional Quarterly
Stanford University Press
University of Kansas Press