Many faculty, former students, and friends came together over the weekend of April 13-14 for a conference in honor of our distinguished colleague Richard Tuck.
Held at Princeton University, the event celebrated not only Richard’s retirement but more than four decades of teaching, writing, and intellectual camaraderie.
Political theorist and historian of political thought, Richard taught at the University of Cambridge from 1973 to 1995, before joining the Department of Government faculty at Harvard in 1995 as the Frank G. Thomson Professor of Government.
Richard authored eight books on political theory and its history: Natural Rights Theories (1979), Hobbes (1989), Philosophy and Government, 1572-1651 (1993), The Rights of War and Peace (1999), Free Riding (2008), The Sleeping Sovereign: The Invention of Modern Democracy (2016), The Left Case for Brexit (2020), and Active and Passive Citizens: A Defense of Majoritarian Democracy (2024).
Richard’s interests and teaching covered all subfields of political science, addressing topics such as political authority, human rights, natural law, and toleration. His more recent work has been particularly concerned with the nature of democratic sovereignty in an age of constitutions and globalization.
The event was a fantastic celebration of Richard’s long career, and we all wish him a long and productive retirement.
To find out more about the event, visit celebrating-richard.com.