Forum for the History of Political Thought

Jan-Werner Mueller, Director 

The Forum for the History of Political Thought pursues three aims:

  • To provide a venue for Princeton students and faculty from different disciplines to discuss both substantive and methodological issues in the history of political thought. Occasional roundtables and small discussion groups focus on particular thinkers, traditions of thought, or fundamental questions about how the study of the history of political thought ought to be conducted.
  • To sponsor a range of workshops and conferences dealing with the history of political thought, placing special, but by no means exclusive, emphasis on the history of political thought as a source for present-day normative reflection.
  • To open wider geographical and temporal horizons for the study of political thought. In particular, the project seeks to investigate different forms of publicly justifying political rule both within and outside the Western World (and both liberal as well as anti-liberal). It thereby seeks to build bridges to comparative politics, comparative constitutional law, and area studies.

We welcome ideas and proposals from faculty and students.


Upcoming Events

Academic Freedom: Normative, Legal, and Empirical Perspectives: A Discussion
Mon, Oct 2, 2023, 1:30 pm6:00 pm
Forum for the History of Political Thought

Academic freedom is under threat in many parts of the world – including in at least parts of the United States.  Against this background, the Academic Freedom Initiative our gathering pursues two tasks: first, we wish to revisit the normative and legal bases of academic freedom.  Arguably,…

Location
Laura Wooten Hall, Room 301 (Kerstetter Room)
Sponsor
UCHV Academic Freedom initiative and the Princeton-Humboldt Partnership
Free and Open to the Public
New Approaches to Intermediary Bodies
Fri, Nov 3, 2023, 9:00 amSat, Nov 4, 2023, 5:00 pm

ABSTRACT: Although one can hardly conceive of democracy without reference to political parties, news outlets, and social media platforms, these intermediary bodies face profound challenges in the present. If intermediary bodies are a necessary feature of modern democratic rule, then what are the organizations, technologies,…

Location
TBD
Free and Open to the Public