Education
1998 - Ph.D., Boston College
1991 - M.A., University of New Hampshire
1984 - B.A., Oberlin College
As a Professor of Politics at Saint Anselm College I teach courses in political theory and philosophy, and participate in the College's first-year Conversatio program. Born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, I worked as a campaign manager, legal researcher, and as an actor, and mushed dogs recreationally.
Political theory asks us to consider two fundamental questions: First, How does the political world work? And second, What's the difference between right and wrong, or good and bad, in politics? Some of the greatest thinkers in the history of the world - from Plato and Aristotle to Machiavelli, Locke, and Rousseau, can guide us to think more clearly and precisely about the nature of political life. It's a great delight for me to introduce students to the heights of political thinking.
My research has focused especially on the distance between philosophy and political practice. I authored The Great Art of Government: Locke's Use of Consent, and co-authored The Irony of Barack Obama: Barack Obama, Reinhold Niebuhr, and the Problem of Christian Statecraft. I've also produced articles and chapters on politics and popular culture, justice and war, nineteenth century Russian thought, the political philosophy of Henry Kissinger, and the religious and philosophic influences on Barack Obama. My current research explores the relation between philosophy and classical liberal politics in the work of John Locke.