Professor Hirschmann works in the history of political thought, analytical philosophy, and feminist theory. Her newest book, Gender, Class, and Freedom in Modern Political Theory (Princeton University Press, 2008) considers the concept of freedom as it developed in the canon of political thought from the 17th to 19th centuries and examines how issues of gender and class affected the dominant conceptions of freedom. Her previous book, The Subject of Liberty: Toward a Feminist Theory of Freedom (Princeton University Press 2003), took a more contemporary approach and considered the concept of freedom in the context of political and social issues such as domestic violence, Islamic veiling, and U.S. welfare reform. This book won the 2004 Victoria Schuck award from the American Political Science Association for the best book on women and politics, and Choice recommended this book as "essential" and "feminist theory at its best." Prof. Hirschmann has also published Rethinking Obligation: A Feminist Method for Political Theory (Cornell University Press, 1992), and several co-edited volumes, including Revisioning the Political: Feminist Interpretations of Traditional Concepts in Western Political Theory (with Christine Di Stefano, Westview Press, 1996), Women and Welfare: Theory and Practice in the U.S. and Europe (with Ulrike Liebert, Rutgers University Press 2001), Feminist Interpretations of John Locke (with Kirstie McClure, Penn State University Press 2007), and Feminist Interpretations of Thomas Hobbes (with Joanne Wright, Penn State University Press, forthcoming 2008). She was a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and the Bunting Institute of Radcliffe College (now the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study), and has held fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Professor Hirschmann is also active in the Women's Studies Program at Penn and taught at Cornell University for 12 years before coming to Penn. She is currently a fellow in the Penn Humanities Center Forum seminar, "Change," for the 2008-09 academic year.
Areas of Interest
• History of Political Thought
• Modern Political Theory
• Feminist Theory
• Contemporary Political Thought
• Theoretical Approaches to Public Policy
Selected Publications
NEW!
 • Gender, Class and Freedom in Modern Political Theory, Princeton University press, 2008
(Buy this book from the publisher)
 • The Subject of Liberty: Toward A Feminist Theory of Freedom, Princeton University Press, 2003. Winner of the American Political Science Association's 2004 Victoria Schuck Award for the Best Book on Women and Politics.
(Buy this book from the publisher)
 • Women and Welfare: Theory and Practice in the United States and Europe, co-edited with Ulrike Liebert, Rutgers University Press, 2001.
(Buy this book from the publisher)
 • Revisioning the Political: Feminist Reconstructions of Traditional Concepts in Western Political Theory, co-edited with Christine Di Stefano, Westview Press, 1996.
(Buy this book online in hardcover or paperback)
• Rethinking Obligation: A Feminist Method for Political Theory, Cornell University Press, 1992.
Course Sampler
• Modern Political Thought
• Political Theory and Public Policy
• Feminist Political Thought
• Contemporary Political Thought
Students Who Want Letters of Recommendation:
Students requesting letters of recommendation should provide me with copies of written work completed for a course they have taken with me, with my comments and grade written on it. If you did not take a course with an enrollment less than 40, or it has been more than a year since taking my course, such copies are imperative.
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