Catherine Kellogg, PhD

Area of Study / Keywords

contemporary political theory feminist theory psychoanalysis deconstruction

Research

All of my research concerns the relationship between law, sovereignty and violence. My first major research project was a book length study of deconstruction and law. My next research project explored the relationship between sovereign power and human rights. I am now bringing that work on the power of sovereign states to both protect and punish in a book length study that focuses the legal limits to punishment. In particular, I am interested in debates about ‘cruel and unusual’ punishment because the most fruitful of these debates get to one of the hearts of racial capitalism. This work engages contemporary continental philosophy, moral philosophy, and psychoanalysis to work through such pressing problems as the hyper-racialized prison and mass incarceration. This project looks not only at prison reform but also looks at prison abolition.

I am happy to supervise students interested in questions of human rights, political and legal violence, and state punishment and cruelty. I am especially happy to work with students interested in these questions from the angles offered by psychoanalysis, Marxism, antiracism, feminist theory and queer theory.

POL S 212 - Introduction to Contemporary Political Theory

Explores how texts in contemporary western political theory help to deepen and diversify our understanding of current political themes like war, climate change, sex, work, or democratic reform. Not to be taken by students with credit in POL S 210. Prerequisite: POL S 101 or consent of Department.

POL S 404 - Topics in Political Theory

A variable content course, which may be repeated if topics vary. Prerequisite: One of POL S 211, 212 (or 210) or Department consent.

POL S 410 - Topics in Contemporary Political Theory

A critical examination of contemporary trends in political philosophy. A variable content course, which may be repeated if topics vary. Prerequisite: One of POL S 211, 212 (or 210) or Department consent.

POL S 514 - Contemporary Political Theory

POL S 515 - Topics in Political Theory

POL S 600 - Theories and Methods of Comparative Politics

Traditional and critical perspectives.

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