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Dr Geoff Kennedy, B.A.(Waterloo); M.A.(York); Ph.D.(York)
(email at geoff.kennedy@durham.ac.uk)
Biography
Dr Kennedy completed his graduate degrees in Political Science at York University in Canada where he studied Political Theory and Comparative Politics. He recently published his dissertation into a book titled, Diggers, Levellers and Agrarian Capitalism: Radical Political Thought in 17th Century England (Lexington Books). He specializes in the history of European political thought, with an emphasis on early modern England, Marxist theory and republicanism. Before joining the School at Durham, Dr Kennedy held posts at the University of Saskatchewan and York University in Canada, the Middle East Technical University in Northern Cyprus, and the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland.
Current Research
Dr Kennedy is currently working on a project called Republicanism and Empire: the Problem of Liberty and Empire in Early Modern Republicanism. The purpose of this project is to examine the changing nature of republican political thought and its relationship to empire and 'imperialism' in the early modern period. The project examines the dynamic tension between the desire to maintain the liberties of self-government, the preservation of social order and the pressures of state expansionism within republican political thought. The research explores the ways in which republicanism's evolving conceptual relationship to empire is related to the changing nature of social relations, social conflicts and political institutions throughout the early modern period.
Dr. Kennedy is also working on a project called Democracy against Republicanism: Athenian and Roman Traditions in the History of Political Thought. The project critically assesses republican interpretations of the Athenian democratic tradition and examines the ways in which a conservative narrative of anti-democratic republican liberty influenced the dominant interpretation of republicanism in the early modern period. The project situates the works of Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Sallust, Livy, Plutarch and Machiavelli within the context of their respective societies, emphasizing the important ways in which the social conflicts of the time influenced their republicanism.
Research Interests
- 17th Century English Political Thought
- Classical Political Theory
- Marxism
- Neoliberalism
- Republicanism
- Theories of the State
- Transitions to Capitalism
Selected Publications
Books: authored
- Kennedy, Geoff. (2008). Diggers, Levellers and Agrarian Capitalism: Radical Political Thought in 17th Century England. Lanham: Lexington Books.
Edited works: contributions
- Kennedy, Geoff. (Forthcoming). Senatus Populusque Romanus Against the Demos: Roman Republicanism versus Athenian Democracy. In Athenian Legacies: Debating European Citizenship. Kitromilides, Paschalis & Boralevi, Lea Campos (eds.). Leo Olshki Publishers.
- Kennedy, Geoff. (2007). Radicalism and Revisionism in the English Civil War. In History and Revolution: Refuting Revisionism. Haynes, Mike & Wolfreys, Jim. London: Verso.
Journal papers: academic
- Kennedy, Geoff. (Submitted). Free-men, Free Labour and neo-Roman Conceptions of Liberty in Early Modern England. Contributions to the History of Concepts
- Kennedy, Geoff. (2013). Cicero, Roman Republicanism and the Contested Meaning of Libertas. Political Studies
- Kennedy, Geoff. (2012). Capitalism and Contextualization in C. B. Macphersons's 'The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism.'. Journal of Intellectual History and Political Thought 1(1): 228-251.
- Kennedy, Geoff. (2009). 'The Republican Dilemma' and the Changing Social Context of Republicanism in the Early Modern Period. European Journal of Political Theory 8(3): 313-338.
- Kennedy, Geoff. (2009). Republican Discourses and Imperial Projects: Liberty and Empire in American Political Discourse. Spectrum: a journal of Global Studies 1(1): 53-68.
- Kennedy, Geoff. (2006). Digger Radicalism and Agrarian Capitalism. Historical Materialism 14(3): 113-143.
- Kennedy, Geoff. (2002). State, Civil Society and Social Context in Hegel's 'Philosophy of Right'. Problematique (8).