John Gardner at Home

Memories from Richard Albert

Hi John,

I understand from Nick Barber that you are not well. This news really saddens me, and I am writing to send you a note of encouragement to let you know that I am thinking of you.

Nick attended the ICON-S conference earlier this week in Santiago, and I had the pleasure of seeing him. I asked him about a number of his colleagues, including you, since you had been my teacher in the BCL in 2006. (Along with you, Nick and Alison Young led the BCL seminar in Constitutional Theory in 2006-07.)

Your seminar was the most important and, for me, transformative academic experience I have had in all of my schooling. I had wonderfully supportive teachers at Yale and Harvard, and also fabulous opportunities to learn from great scholars. More than any other course, however, yours pushed me to ask questions I had never thought to ask, opened my eyes to the importance of boundary-setting and -breaking in constructing and evaluating an argument, and it introduced me to new modes of analysis. I often think about that course, and also of you.

I send you my very best wishes in this difficult time and I pray that you will have many happy moments ahead of learning, discovery, and adventure surrounded by loving family and friends.

Richard