The Charles and Louise Travers Department of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, offers regular graduate seminars in the history of political thought, contemporary political theory, critical theory, and methodology in the study of political thought. Berkeley has historically been home to one of the country’s major centers for the study of political theory. One of the first dedicated courses in political thought in the United States was offered at the University of California as early as 1882. Berkeley political theorists have included major figures in the field, such as Hans Kelsen, Sheldon Wolin, and Hanna Pitkin.
The current members of the political theory faculty at Berkeley are Mark Bevir, Wendy Brown, Kinch Hoekstra (cross-appointed in JSP), Daniel Lee, and Christopher Kutz and Sarah Song (both by courtesy from JSP).
For admissions information for the doctoral program in Political Science, please go here.
Recent dissertation titles in political theory include the following:
Heroic Democracy: Thucydides, Pericles, and the Tragic Science of Athenian Greatness
Negotiating the Sharing Economy: Challenges and Opportunities for Democracy in the Era of Neo-Liberal Capitalism
Rethinking Recognition: Freedom, Self-Definition, and Principles for Practice
War and Peace in the Political Thought of Francis Bacon
Public Reason and Private Bias
Appeals to Authenticity: Discourses on the True Self and the Politics of Identity Construction