Ari Kohen

Ari Kohen
Professor of Political Science, Schlesinger Professor of Social Justice, and Director of the Norman and Bernice Harris Center for Judaic Studies Political Science
Ari Kohen

Dr. Kohen teaches political philosophy at the undergraduate and graduate levels. His research focuses principally on classical and on contemporary political thought. His first book examines the philosophical grounding of the idea of human rights; his new book looks at the ways in which we think about heroic behavior and the most choice-worthy lives.

He's an admitted pop culture and technology fiend. On campus and around town, you’ll almost always see him wearing earbuds or catching up with the latest news via Twitter on his iPhone. He's probably posting something to his blog or listening to the latest philosophy podcast, but you should definitely say hello.

Research Areas

  • Contemporary and Ancient Political Theory
  • Human Rights
  • Ethnic and Intrastate Conflict
  • Restorative and Transitional Justice

Current Research

  • Articles on social justice education; technology and racism; and extremist challenges to political liberalism.

Awards & Accomplishments

  • 2006 Irmgard Coninx Research Prize, a three-month fellowship at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung
  • College Distinguished Teaching Award, 2011
  • Articles in Human Rights Review, Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, Journal of Human Rights, Polis, and Social Justice Research

Recent Publications

  • Kohen, Ari. 2011. “Plato’s Philosophic Vision: The Difficult Choices of the Socratic Life.” 28 Polis 1
    (Spring).“A Non-Religious Basis for the Idea of Human Rights: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights as Overlapping Consensus” in ed. Thomas Cushman (New York: Routledge).
    “Plato’s Philosophic Vision: The Difficult Choices of the Socratic Life,” 28Polis 1.
  • “A Non-Religious Basis for the Idea of Human Rights: The Universal Declaration of Human Rights as Overlapping Consensus” in Handbook of Human Rights ed. Thomas Cushman (New York: Routledge).
  • “An Overlapping Consensus on Human Rights and Human Dignity” in  Human Rights at the Crossroads ed. Mark Goodale (New York: Oxford).

Career Highlights