Associate Professor of Political Science Claire Curtis has been teaching at the College of Charleston since 1998, challenging her students to ask questions and think critically.
She earned master’s and doctoral degrees from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin College. She previously taught at Vanderbilt University and Reed College.
At the College, she has taught courses on political thought, liberalism, utopia, sexual harassment, as well as the political science capstone. She also teaches in the Honors College and the First Year Experience program.
Associate Professor of Political Science Claire Curtis
In the Q&A below, Curtis discusses her plans for an upcoming sabbatical, why she became a professor, and how she draws students out with conversation:
Q: What inspired you to become a political science professor?
A: I had great professors in college and knew that I wanted to go onto graduate school because I loved school and wanted to learn more.
Q: Why do you think political theory is important to the college experience?
A: I think that political philosophy asks the questions that are the foundation for any other kind of inquiry in political science. Political philosophy does not simply ask questions about what is justice or freedom or equality. It also offers windows into how we, as humans, have thought about what it means for us to be human: What motivates us? How should we live? What do we deserve?
Q: As a researcher what issue do you find most interesting so far?
A: How people decide to live together peacefully.
Q: What’s your next big research topic?
A: During my sabbatical I plan to write a book using Martha Nussbaum’s most recent work on political emotions and her earlier work on the capabilities approach to analyze contemporary utopian fiction.
Q: Why is your utopia/ dystopia class so popular?
A: I think students like to imagine radically better worlds ( we all do!) and this is a class that gives them space not only to analyze how others have imagined such worlds but to also create their own utopia.
Q: What does your Utopian Society look like?
A: I am intrigued by communal child rearing. My utopia would definitely include the sharing of work necessary to the community and work that no one wanted to do. As any student who has taken this class knows: we definitely need to be wearing jumpsuits with lots of pockets. Choosing meaningful work and, more importantly, being able to choose meaningful work. Lifelong education. Lots of greenspace! And if we could simultaneously be figuring out how to live on a different planet, then I would sign up for that as well.
Q: What is your favorite book?
A: Ursula LeGuin The Dispossessed (with Plato’s Republic a close second).
Q: What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
A: Playing softball, reading, going to the beach or on outings with my kids.
Q: What’s been your best moment as a professor at the College?
A: Every semester there is a moment where a student who had maybe seemed less than compelled by the subject matter finds some way into the questions we are asking and that student gets independently excited about what we are doing.
Read the complete Q&A with Claire Curtis.
