Professor Lisa Leibowitz began teaching in the team-taught Quest for Justice course in 2006, having previously taught classes in political philosophy and American government at Michigan State University. Her dissertation is titled "On Hedonism and Moral Longing: the Socratic Critique of Sophistic Education in Plato's Protagoras."
Areas of Expertise
Education, morality and happiness in Plato.
Courses Recently Taught
IPHS 113Y
Odyssey of the West: The Pursuit of Wisdom and Understanding
IPHS 113Y
In the first semester, we explore the themes of love and justice, purity and power, fidelity to the family and loyalty to the state. Through reading selections from the Hebrew Bible, Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Thucydides, Vergil, Dante and others, we investigate these themes as they find expression in the Judeo-Christian and Greco-Roman traditions and in their enduring European legacies. Students enrolled in this course will be automatically added to IPHS 114Y for the spring semester. This course is open to first-year and sophomore students. Juniors and senior declared concentrators may petition the department to enroll.
IPHS 114Y
Odyssey of the West: The Pursuit of Wisdom and Understanding
IPHS 114Y
In the second semester, we focus on the themes of law and disorder, harmony and entropy, and modernity and its critics. Beginning with Machiavelli, Shakespeare and Hobbes, we investigate the desire to construct a unified vision through reason; then we examine the disruption or refinement of that vision in the works of such authors as Nietzsche, Darwin and Marx. Throughout the year, we explore the connections between the visual arts, literature and philosophy. In tutorial sessions, students concentrate on developing the craft of writing. IPHS 113Y-114Y will fulfill diversification in the Humanities Division. This course is open to first-year and sophomore students. Juniors and senior declared concentrators may petition the department to enroll.
IPHS 423D
Aristophanes: Politics and Comedy
IPHS 423D
Today, political comedians are a mainstay of our culture, some of the most famous being Jon Stewart, Trevor Noah and John Oliver. But while their insights are often astute, they are rarely profound and never add up to a comprehensive political teaching. To see the heights and depths that are possible in comedy, we will study four plays by Aristophanes, the unrivaled master of combining comic vulgarity with a wisdom equal to that of the philosophers. Through a close examination of these plays we will find and consider Aristophanes’ insights on such obviously political, and some not so obviously political, topics as the founding of cities, father-beating, the tension between the private good and the public good, the Muses and the other gods, the respective power of nature and convention, the danger of philosophy, war and peace, property and the political role of women. Throughout, we will also consider Aristophanes’ view of the political purpose of comedy. Prior coursework in political science is not required. This counts as an upper-level seminar for the political science major. This course is the same as PSCI 423D and counts toward the IPHS concentration. This interdisciplinary course does not count toward the completion of any diversification requirement. Prerequisite: sophomore standing.
PSCI 101Y
Quest for Justice
PSCI 101Y
This course explores the relationship between the individual and society as exemplified in the writings of political philosophers, statesmen, novelists and contemporary political writers. Questions about law, political obligation, freedom, equality and justice and human nature are examined and illustrated. The course looks at different kinds of societies such as the ancient city, modern democracy and totalitarianism, and confronts contemporary issues such as race, culture and gender. The readings present diverse viewpoints and the sessions are conducted by discussion. The course is designed primarily for first-year students. Students enrolled in this course will be automatically added to PSCI 102Y for the spring semester. Offered every fall.
PSCI 102Y
Quest for Justice
PSCI 102Y
This course explores the relationship between the individual and society as exemplified in the writings of political philosophers, statesmen, novelists and contemporary political writers. Questions about law, political obligation, freedom, equality and justice and human nature are examined and illustrated. The course looks at different kinds of societies such as the ancient city, modern democracy and totalitarianism, and confronts contemporary issues such as race, culture and gender. The readings present diverse viewpoints and the sessions are conducted by discussion. The course is designed primarily for first-year students. Offered every spring.
PSCI 423D
Aristophanes: Politics and Comedy
PSCI 423D
Today, political comedians are a mainstay of our culture, some of the most famous being Jon Stewart, Trevor Noah and John Oliver. But while their insights are often astute, they are rarely profound and never add up to a comprehensive political teaching. To see the heights and depths that are possible in comedy, we will study four plays by Aristophanes, the unrivaled master of combining comic vulgarity with a wisdom equal to that of the philosophers. Through a close examination of these plays we will find and consider Aristophanes’ insights on such obviously political, and some not so obviously political, topics as the founding of cities, father-beating, the tension between the private good and the public good, the Muses and the other gods, the respective power of nature and convention, the danger of philosophy, war and peace, property and the political role of women. Throughout, we will also consider Aristophanes’ view of the political purpose of comedy. Prior coursework in political science is not required. This counts toward the seminar requirement for the major. This course is the same as IPHS 423D and counts toward the IPHS concentration. This course must be taken as PSCI 423D to count toward the social science diversification requirement. Prerequisite: sophomore standing.
Academic & Scholarly Achievements
Forthcoming
"How Can You Tell a Sophist from a Philosopher ," (Festschrift for Kenyon College Professor, Kirk Emmert, forthcoming).
Forthcoming
The entry on Courage, in The Encyclopedia of Political Thought (Wiley-Blackwell), forthcoming.
2008
"Is Virtue One? An Analysis of Plato's Protagoras." Paper delivered at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, April 2008.
2007
"A Threshold in Socrates Education: An Examination of the Introductory Scenes in Plato's Protagoras." Paper delivered at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, April 2007.