SelectedWorks - Steven Michels

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Selected Works of Steven Michels

Professor & Chair Political Science & Global Affairs, Associate Dean Academic Affairs

In addition to his books, chapters, and articles on democratic theory and culture, professor Michels has published and researched in the areas of sustainable development, the media, and higher education.

As associate dean, Steven Michels, Ph.D., oversees SHU’s faculty and curriculum development, strategic planning and budgeting and is the director of the Institute for Public Policy and Civic Engagement in the College of Arts and Sciences. He also oversees the Thomas More Honors Program.

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About Steven Michels

In addition to his books, chapters, and articles on democratic theory and culture, professor Michels has published and researched in the areas of sustainable development, the media, and higher education.

As associate dean, Steven Michels, Ph.D., oversees SHU’s faculty and curriculum development, strategic planning and budgeting and is the director of the Institute for Public Policy and Civic Engagement in the College of Arts and Sciences. He also oversees the Thomas More Honors Program.

Science Fiction and Political Philosophy: From Bacon to Black Mirror (Timothy McCranor and Steven Michels) Political Science & Global Affairs (2020)

Sometimes called the “literature of ideas,” science fiction is a natural medium for normative political philosophy. Science fiction’s focus on technology, space and time travel, non-human lifeforms, and parallel universes cannot help but invoke the ...

Sinclair Lewis and American Democracy (Steven Michels) Political Science & Global Affairs (2017)

America is a nation making itself up as it goes along--a story of discovery and invention unfolding in speeches and images, letters and poetry, unprecedented feats of scholarship and imagination. In these myriad, multiform, endlessly ...

The Case Against Democracy (Steven Michels) Political Science & Global Affairs (2013)

Are the politics of the United States to blame for its current unsteady footing in the 21st century? This book aims to answer this uncomfortable but relevant question by examining the strengths and weaknesses of ...

Foundations of Political Thought (Steven Michels) Political Science & Global Affairs (2014)

This volume collects the essential thinkers on government and politics. Rather than merely presenting them chronologically, it organizes them around the perennial challenges of political life, including the purpose of government, the tension between freedom ...

An Exhortation to Secure Humanity against the Buggers: Ender's Game (Steven Michels and Danielle Sottosanti) Political Science & Global Affairs (2020)

Bacon, Transhumanism, and Reflections from the Black Mirror (David N. Whitney and Steven Michels) Political Science & Global Affairs (2020)

"All the World's a Cage: Franz Kafka's 'A Hunger Artist'" (Steven Michels and Timothy McCranor) Short Stories and Political Philosophy (2018)

Hobbes and Frank on Why Democracy is Overrated (Steven Michels) Political Science & Global Affairs (2016)

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was the first philosopher to take seriously the idea that people are essentially equal. Not only do we want the same things, but also we think that we have an equal claim ...

Religion, Rhetoric, and Running for Office: Public Reason on the US Campaign Trail (Brian Stiltner and Steven Michels) Political Science & Global Affairs (2009)

It is common, almost expected, for candidates for office in the United States to affirm their religious identity and to employ broad religious themes in support of their political agendas. It is the rare candidate, ...

Who's the Boss? Springsteen on the Alienation and Salvation of Work and Labor (Steven Michels) Political Science & Global Affairs (2008)

Few artists have earned as much of a reputation for championing the working class as Bruce Springsteen. His songs are replete with references to thankless jobs and grudging bosses that just plain screw up an ...

Can The Daily Show Save Democracy? Jon Stewart as the Gadfly of Gotham (Steven Michels and Michael Ventimiglia) Political Science & Global Affairs (2007)

The Challenge of Higher Education (Steven Michels) Political Science & Global Affairs (2005)

The spiraling cost of education, the spread of technology, and the competitive nature of the job market have changed the very notion of what education should be and who should pay for it. This chapter ...

Peer-reviewed Articles (6)

When Democracies Fight: Tocqueville on the Democratic Peace (Steven Michels) Political Science & Global Affairs (2005)

Do democratic norms and political culture play a greater role than structural determinants in realizing a democratic peace? Alexis de Tocqueville, a hitherto unappreciated theorist of international politics, offered such a view 175 years ago. ...

Nietzsche and the Religion of the Future (Steven Michels) Political Science & Global Affairs (2004)

This article examines the place of religion in Nietzsche’s writings and how it fits with the task of a “new philosopher.” Although Nietzsche opposes all otherworldly, monotheistic religions, it is incorrect to say that Nietzsche ...

Nietzsche on Truth and The Will (Steven Michels) Political Science & Global Affairs (2004)

The fundamental — and many would say lingering — challenge to Nietzsche concerns how he can ground the will to power, given what he says about metaphysics as a philosophic prejudice. Does his teaching not ...

Nietzsche, Nihilism, and the Virtue of Nature (Steven Michels) Political Science & Global Affairs (2004)

Nietzsche’s view of nature and his attack on the platonic tradition has given him a reputation as a nihilist, a label he himself acknowledged. Yet what does Nietzsche mean by nihilism? and to what extent ...

Democracy in Plato's Laws (Steven Michels) Political Science & Global Affairs (2004)

This article discusses Plato's view of democracy based on the book The Laws. The most obvious example of the more positive treatment of democracy in The Laws is that Plato presents monarchy and democracy as ...

Nietzsche’s Aphoristic Turn (Steven Michels) Political Science & Global Affairs (2004)

Nietzsche’s use of the aphorism has most often been taken as evidence of his esotericism. Nietzsche was less than clear in his writings, it is claimed, because he did not want his true teaching to ...

Trade Journal Articles (1)

What to Do When Your Institution Is Acquired (Steven Michels) Inside Higher Ed (2021)

The recent spate of college closings, mergers and acquisitions is only likely to increase as a result of the financial pressures related to the pandemic. It's a time fraught with anxieties and uncertainty. Here are ...

Review of Thirteen Cracks: Repairing American Democracy after Trump, Allan J. Lichtman (Steven Michels) Political Science & Global Affairs (2022)

Allan J. Lichtman, distinguished professor of history at American University, has made a substantial, and hopefully welcome, contribution to the discussion of how American democracy can be bolstered in the wake of the Donald Trump ...

Theorizing Without Theory: A Review of The People vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom is in Danger and How to Save It (Steven Michels) (2020)

Review of "Men at War: What Fiction Tells Us about Conflict, from The Iliad to Catch-22" by Christopher Coker (Steven Michels) Political Science & Global Affairs (2016)

Book Review of "Men at War: What Fiction Tells Us about Conflict, from The Iliad to Catch-22" by Christopher Coker

American Democracy: From Tocqueville to Town Halls to Twitter (Steven Michels) Political Science & Global Affairs (2015)

Book review by Steven Michels. Perrin, Andrew J. American Democracy: From Tocqueville to Town Halls to Twitter. Cambridge, UK; Malden, MA: Polity, 2014. ISBN 9780745662329; 9780745662336 (pbk.)

A Wiser Politics, by Jean Hardy (Book Review) (Steven Michels) Political Science & Global Affairs (2012)

Book review by Steven Michels. Hardy, Jean. "A Wiser Politics." Abingdon: O-Books, 2011. ISBN 9781846945670

The Politics and Tragedy of Democratic Citizenship, by Robert C. Pirro (Book Review) (Steven Michels) Political Science & Global Affairs (2012)

Book review by Steven Michels. Pirro, R. C. (2011). The politics and tragedy of democratic citizenship. London: Continuum. ISBN 9781441165251