The Berkeley school of political theory is a

school of thought A school of thought, or intellectual tradition, is the perspective of a group of people who share common characteristics of opinion or outlook of a philosophy, discipline, belief, social movement, economics, cultural movement, or art movement. ...

political theory Political philosophy studies the theoretical and conceptual foundations of politics. It examines the nature, scope, and legitimacy of political institutions, such as states. This field investigates different forms of government, ranging from d ...

associated originally with the work of faculty at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, some of whom formulated and popularized its ideas. The school of thought was founded by

Sheldon Wolin Sheldon Sanford Wolin (; August 4, 1922 – October 21, 2015) was an American political theorist and writer on contemporary politics. A political theorist for fifty years, Wolin became Professor of Politics, Emeritus, at Princeton University, wher ...

Hanna Pitkin Hanna Fenichel Pitkin (July 17, 1931 – May 6, 2023) was an American political theorist. She was best known for her seminal study ''The Concept of Representation'', published in 1967. Pitkin's diverse interests ranged from the history of Europ ...

,"In light of Pitkin's long association with Berkeley, it is no surprise that academic lore frequently connects her work to a 'Berkeley School' of political theory, said to have flourished in the 1960s and '70s.", Mathiowetz, 2016, p.5 of the PDF.

Michael Rogin Michael Paul Rogin (June 29, 1937 – November 25, 2001) was an American political scientist who taught at the University of California, Berkeley.Janet Gilmore, University of California Press Relations"UC Berkeley professor Michael Rogin, polit ...

John Schaar John Homer Schaar (July 7, 1928 – December 26, 2011, age 83), also known as Jack Schaar, was an American political theorist. He was a professor emeritus at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Schaar was born in Montoursville, Pennsylvania, ...

, and Norman Jacobson, among others, and has been carried on by theorists including Wilson Carey McWilliams, Mary G. Dietz,

Linda M.G. Zerilli Linda is an English feminine given name, derived from the Spanish word , meaning "pretty." Linda may also refer to: Names * Linda (given name), a female given name (including a list of people and fictional characters so named) * Linda (singer) ...

and J. Peter Euben.William Grimes
"Sheldon S. Wolin, Theorist Who Shifted Political Science Back to Politics, Dies at 93"
(obituary), ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Oct. 28, 2015.Mathiowetz 2017. The Berkeley school has been characterized as returning political theory back in the direction of politics and political action, and away from efforts to center "scientific" models such as economics, psychology, sociology, and the natural sciences, specifically

behavioralism Behavioralism is an approach in the philosophy of science, describing the scope of the fields now collectively called the behavioral sciences; this approach dominated the field until the late 20th century. Behavioralism attempts to explain human b ...

and

evolutionary psychology Evolutionary psychology is a theoretical approach in psychology that examines cognition and behavior from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify human psychological adaptations with regard to the ancestral problems they evolved ...

.Mathiowetz, 2016.

References

Further reading