John Zumbrunnen is the 2012 recipient of the Meiklejohn-Powell Fellowship, given to the University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty member who proposes the best new course for the Integrated Liberal Studies program.
An associate professor of political science, Zumbrunnen’s broad and interdisciplinary interests and research make him an outstanding candidate for ILS teaching. The new course, “Educating the Democratic Citizen,” will make a significant contribution to the ILS curriculum.
Zumbrunnen’s interests range across the history of political thought, democratic theory, American political thought and the philosophy of social science. His recent research works at the intersection of Greek political thought and contemporary democratic theory, seeking in particular to recover ancient texts as resources for our thinking about the place and potential of ordinary citizens in mass democracy.
Zumbrunnen’s first book, Silence and Democracy: Athenian Politics in Thucydides’ History, was published by Penn State University Press in May 2008. His second book, Aristophanic Comedy and the Challenge of Democratic Citizenship will be published by the University of Rochester Press/Boydell & Brewer later this year.
His work has appeared in The American Political Science Review, Political Theory, Polity, History of Political Thought and Political Behavior as well as various edited volumes.