David Lay Williams

Professor Williams is on leave for

the Fall 2011-Spring 2012

Academic Year

Education

Courses

Ancient & Medieval Political Theory, Modern Political Theory, Contemporary Political Theory, Introduction to Political Theory, 17th & 18th Century Philosophy, Ancient Greek Philosophy, Philosophy of Law, The Enlightenment: American & European, Rousseau, Plato's Republic, From Rousseau to Foucault, Early Modern German Political Thought, Late Modern German Political Thought, Social & Political Philosophy, Constitutional Interpretation, Constitutional Law, Introduction to American Politics, Judicial Process

About

David Lay Williams is Associate Professor of Political Science and Philosophy. He received his PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in 1999 and began teaching at UWSP in 2000. He teaches and conducts research in the history of political thought. His book, Rousseau’s Platonic Enlightenment, was published in 2007 by the Pennsylvania State University Press, and he has essays published or forthcoming in The Journal of Politics, The American Journal of Political Science, Critical Review, Telos, Polity, The Journal of the History of Ideas, and The History of Political Thought. In 2003-04 and 2008-09, he held research fellowships at the University of Wisconsin—Madison’s Institute for Research in the Humanities. He is presently working on three books: 1) Rousseau's 'Social Contract': An Introduction (under contract with Cambridge University Press), 2) a monograph on deception in Western political thought, and 3) a co-edited volume (with James Farr) on the general will. Williams holds a dual appointment with the Department of Philosophy, where he teaches courses on the history of philosophy and jurisprudence.

Read reviews of David's book Rousseau's Platonic Enlightenment in Choice and the Notre Dame Philosophical Review​.​