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Education:
Scholarly Activities:
David Williams was a Fellow at the
UW-Madison Institute
for Research in the Humanities for the 2008-2009
Academic Year.
Professor Williams organized a
General Will Symposium at UW-Madison, October 4,
2008.
Books:
Rousseau’s Platonic
Enlightenment
(with foreword by Patrick Riley, editor of the
Cambridge Companion to Rousseau), Pennsylvania State University
Press, 2007.
Read Patrick Riley's foreword
Under Contract: Rousseau's Social Contract: An
Introduction (under contract with Cambridge
University Press as part of the Cambridge
Introductions to Key Philosophical Texts series).
Articles:
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“Spinoza and the General Will,”
forthcoming. Journal of Politics.
“Political Ontology in Montesquieu and Rousseau,” forthcoming. American
Journal of Political Science <link>, Vol. 54, No. 2 (April 2010): XXX-XXX.
“Dumbledore, Plato, and the Lust for Power”
(with Alan J. Kellner), in Harry Potter and
Philosophy, ed. Gregory Bassham (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2010).
(series
link)
“Hobbes and Terrorism,”
Critical Review, Vol. 21, No. 1 (March 2009): 91-108.
“Hobbes's
Religion and Political Philosophy”
(with A. P. Martinich and Sharon K. Vaughan), History
of Political Thought, Vol. 29, No. 1 (Spring 2008):
49-64.
“Ideas
and Actuality in the Social Contract: Kant & Rousseau,”
History of Political Thought, Vol. 28, No. 3 (Autumn 2007): 469-495.
“Modern
Theorist of Tyranny? Lessons from Rousseau’s System of Checks and Balances,”
Polity, Vol. 37, No. 4 (October 2005): 443-465.
“Justice
and the General Will: Affirming Rousseau’s Ancient Orientation,”
Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. 66, No. 3 (July 2005): 383-412.
“Dialogical
Theories of Justice.” Telos,
No. 114 (Winter 1999): 109-131.
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Projects in Progress:
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Book: Rousseau's
Social Contract: An Introduction
Book:
Noble and Nefarious Lies: Deception in
Western Political Thought
Book: The
General Will: Foundations, Figures, and
Futures
Essay:
“Hannah Arendt
on Truth, Lies, and Politics”
Essay:
“Rousseau on
Political Deception”
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Recent and Upcoming Conference Presentations:
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“Plato’s Noble Lie: from Kallipolis to
Magnesia.”
To be presented at the Theory Colloquium,
Department of Political Science, the University
of Minnesota—Twin Cities. February 12, 2010.
Link here.
“Mozart in the Enlightenment.”
To be presented at the
UWSP College of Letters and Science
Community-Campus Lecture Series. February
11, 2010. (7:00 pm, CCC 321)
“Plato’s Noble Lie.” To be presented at Texas
Christian University as part of the Political
Science Department's Alumni Speaker Series. January, 2010.
Link here.
“Rousseau’s Platonic Lies?
Truth and Fiction in Rousseau’s Morals &
Politics.”
To be presented to the Political
Philosophy Colloquium, Department of Political
Science, The University of Wisconsin--Madison.
October 9, 2009.
Link here.
“Rousseau on Truth and Lying.”
The International Society for
Intellectual History.
Verona, Italy. May
25, 2009. More
info
here.
Follow-Up Discussion of “Plato’s Noble Lie,”
Institute for Research in the Humanities, the
University of Wisconsin—Madison. April 7, 2009.
Info here.
“Plato’s Noble Lie,” delivered to the Institute
for Research in the Humanities, the University
of Wisconsin—Madison. April 6, 2009.
Info here.
“Plato’s Noble Lie.” The
Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science
Association.
April 2, 2009. Chicago, IL.
Info here.
Roundtable on “New
Developments on Rousseau’s Platonism” (with
Matthew Simpson, Zev Trachtenberg, Jonathan
Marks, and Brent Cusher). The Annual Meeting of
the Midwest Political Science Association.
April 2, 2009.
Chicago, IL.
Info
here.
“Plato’s Noble Lie.”
Presented to the Georgia Ethics and
Political Philosophy Workshop, University of
Georgia—Athens.
March 27, 2009.
Info here.
“Ten Things the Obama Administration Should
Learn from Rousseau.” Presented at Georgetown
College, Georgetown, Kentucky. February 27,
2009.
“Plato’s Noble Lie.” Presented at Georgetown
College, Georgetown, Kentucky. February 26,
2009.
Flyer.
“Relative and Radical Indeterminacy in
Montesquieu and Rousseau.”
Presented to the University of Nebraska
Political Science Department.
December 5, 2008.
Flyer here.
“Spinoza and the
General Will.”
The Annual Meeting of the American Political
Science Association. August 29, 2008. Boston,
MA.
“Hannah
Arendt on Truth, Lying, and Politics,” Presented
at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point.
October 29, 2007.
“Spinoza and the General Will,” delivered at the
General Will Symposium, the University of
Wisconsin—Madison. October 4, 2008.
“Relative and Radical Indeterminacy in
Montesquieu and Rousseau.” The Annual Meeting of
the American Political Science Association.
September, 2007. Chicago, IL.
“The Platonic Soul of the
Rêveries: the Role of Solitude in
Rousseau’s Democratic Politics.” The
Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science
Association. April, 2007. Chicago, IL.
“Hobbes and Terrorism.” The Annual Meeting of
the Western Political Science Association. Las
Vegas, NV. March 9, 2007.
“Ideas and
Actuality in the Social Contract: Kant &
Rousseau.” Presented to the Department of
Government, The University of Texas at Austin,
Distinguished Graduate Series. November 4, 2005.
Info here. |
Current Courses (Fall 2009):
| Phil 270 / Poli Sci 270:
Liberalism, Conservatism, and Democracy (syllabus) |
|
Philosophy 326: 17th and 18th Century Philosophy
(syllabus) |
|
Political Science 393:
Early Western Political Theory (syllabus) |
Upcoming Courses (Spring 2010):
|
Poli Sci 394: Modern Western
Political Theory: Subversives, Heretics, &
Exiles (syllabus)
|
|
Phil 490: Senior Seminar: Plato's Republic
(syllabus) |
All Courses:
| Philosophy 270,
Liberalism, Conservatism, and Democracy (syllabus) |
|
Philosophy 315, The Philosophy of Law (syllabus) |
| Philosophy 325,
Ancient Greek Philosophy (syllabus) |
|
Philosophy 326, 17th and 18th Century Philosophy
(syllabus) |
|
Philosophy 336, Social and Political Philosophy |
| Philosophy 395, The
Philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau |
| Philosophy 395, Modern
German Political Thought (syllabus) |
| Philosophy 395,
Contemporary German Political Thought (syllabus) |
| Philosophy 395, The
Enlightenment |
|
Philosophy 490, The Critical Tradition: From
Rousseau to Foucault (syllabus) |
|
Philosophy 490, Plato's
Republic (Spring 2010,
syllabus) |
| Political Science 101,
American Politics |
| Political Science 201,
American Government for Teachers |
| Political Science 270,
Liberalism, Conservatism, and Democracy (syllabus) |
| Political Science 313,
Judicial Process |
| Political Science 330,
Constitutional Law I |
| Political Science 393,
Early Western Political Theory (syllabus
spring 07) |
| Political Science 394,
Modern Western Political Theory (syllabus) |
| Political Science 395,
Contemporary Political Theory (syllabus) |
| Political Science 395,
The Philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau |
| Political Science 413,
Constitutional Theory |
Course Handouts & Teaching-Learning Resources:
Advice for
Reading Political Theory
Useful
Links in Political Theory
Guide for
Written Assignments
Advice for
those Applying to
Law School
Advice for those
seeking Letters of Recommendation from Professors
Advising Message
Activities
Around
UWSP:
Joint Appointment with
Political Science
Pre-Law Advisor
Dean's Advisory Committee
Study abroad leader for Munich, Germany (fall
2006) |
What Students Are Saying and Doing:
|
Sean Smalley, UWSP-Political Science &
Philosophy (class of '09) will be starting a
Masters of Arts in Social Sciences at the
University of Chicago (specializing in 20th
Century French Intellectual History and French
and Italian Film).
http://mapss.uchicago.edu/
Kyle Borkenhagen (class of '08) is a second-year
law student at Indiana University–Bloomington.
He also made law review.
http://www.law.indiana.edu/
Alan Kellner, UWSP-Philosophy (class of
'08). Alan completed his first year of course
work at the University of Chicago's Masters of
Arts Program in the Humanities. Visit the
afterMAPH blog.
Nathan Bell is a first-year PhD student in
Philosophy at the University of North Texas.
Elizabeth Mauritz is a fifth-year PhD
student in Philosophy at Michigan State
University.
She previously earned a M.A. in
Philosophy at the University of North Texas.
Christopher Harwood,
UWSP-Philosophy (class of '03). Chris is a
second-year graduate student in Philosophy at
Virginia Tech University. Virginia Tech is
ranked among the top eight terminal M.A.
programs in the nation.
Former students from Poli-Sci/Phil 270 were
studying abroad in London, and managed to visit
Jeremy Bentham!
Thanks for the photo, Jenny and Michael! |
Personal:
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Hobbies include jazz guitar (with River Cities
Jazz), film, literature, and vigorous dog
walking. |
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