Steven and friends

Alfred Cowles Professor of Political Science and Master of Branford College received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. He has served as the Director of Graduate Studies, Director of the Undergraduate Program in Humanities, and Acting Chair of Judaic Studies. His research has focused on the history of political philosophy, the role of statecraft in constitutional government, and Jewish thought.

His recent publications include Spinoza, Liberalism, and Jewish Identity (1997), Spinoza's Book of Life (2003), and Reading Leo Strauss (2006), and The Cambridge Companion to Leo Strauss (2009). Next year he will be teaching a class on "Lincoln at 200" in honor of America's greatest statesman. He was awarded the Lex Hixon Prize for Teaching Excellence in the Social Sciences in 2009.

Campus address: 124 Prospect Street, Room 311
Phone: 203.432.5263, 203.432.0524
Email: steven.smith@yale.edu