Josiah Ober

I am a professor of Political Science and Classics at Stanford University. I am also the founder and currently faculty director of the Stanford Civics Initiative (https://civics.stanford.edu/). I hold a bachelor's degree in History from the University of Minnesota and a PhD in History from the University of Michigan. I joined the Stanford faculty in 2006; I previously taught at Princeton and Montana State Universities. I once served as Chairman of Princeton’s Classics Department and later as Chairman of Stanford’s Political Science Department. My writing focuses on history, political theory, economic thought, and the contemporary relevance of the ancient Greek world. My current work in progress includes a book, co-authored with my friend Brook Manville, on the role of civic bargains in the emergence and persistence of democratic government. My wife is Adrienne Mayor, the author of a number of terrific books on ancient myth and science.