Political Theory

Our political theory faculty teaches in nearly all areas of political theory that currently define the field in the discipline of Political Science, including the history of political thought, interpretive theory, critical theory, postructuralism, postmodernism, posthumanism, democratic theory, American political thought, feminist political theory, and the philosophy of social science.

In addition to teaching courses in the aforementioned fields each year, faculty in political theory offer specialized courses and conduct research in those areas of political thought. Professor Peter Breiner currently researches and teaches in the area of democratic theory, focusing on the struggle over citizenship within democratic theory and on how the "real" demands of politics shape the meaning of political theories. Professor Torrey Shanks currently researches and teaches in the fields of modern European thought and contemporary feminist and democratic theory. Her current book project examines rhetoric and political imagination in the work of John Locke. Professor Morton Schoolman currently researches and teaches in the fields of critical theory and American political thought and is working on a book that develops a theory of democratic enlightenment through the visual images circulating in mass culture, especially in film.

Study Under Distinguished Faculty Experts

Peter Breiner	Morton Schoolman	Torrey Shanks