Jonathan Spiegler
About Me
I am a PhD candidate in political science at Michigan State University (MSU). My research focuses on questions of human agency and fatalism in democratic regimes. My research questions and experience span both theory and practice, and therefore I work in both political theory and public policy.
In political theory, I study the thought of nineteenth century French philosopher Alexis de Tocqueville. My dissertation research (i.e., “Boats Against the Current: Tocqueville on Fatalism and Inequality in a Democratic Age”) is on the system of Tocqueville’s thought. I examine Tocqueville’s definition of democracy, the problem of “democratic despotism” that potentially results from this definition, and Tocqueville’s strategy for avoiding this outcome through his discussion of liberty and religion in colonial New England.
In public policy, my research focuses on the problem of gun violence in America, particularly the role that gun control laws and mental illness play in the rate of gun violence.
I am the recipient of both the Excellence-In-Teaching Citation and Graduate Student Teaching Award from MSU. I was an Interdisciplinary Inquiry and Teaching (IIT) fellow at the James Madison College within MSU (a residential liberal arts style college that specializes in teaching the social sciences). I regularly teach courses on the history of political philosophy (both classical and modern), American political thought, public policy, and public administration.
I earned a BA in political science and economics from Kenyon College, and a MPP in social policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.
In my free time, I enjoy, ice hockey, playing the marimba, and attending to my dog Sappho’s every need.
Research & Teaching Interests
Political Philosophy: Alexis de Tocqueville, fatalism and human agency, American slavery and racism, American political thought, French Revolution, Indigenous Americans, James Bryce, history of political thought.
Public Policy: gun violence, racial and economic inequality, criminal justice, social policy.
American Politics: bureaucracy, presidency, judicial politics.
Methods: undergraduate methods pedagogy.
Contact:
Office #214 South Kedzie Hall, 368 Farm Lane
East Lansing, MI, 48823, US
E-mail Address:
spiegle2@msu.edu
