Heather P. Wilford

Heather P. Wilford is a Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Yale University. Her research and teaching focus on the history of political philosophy and American political thought, with a specialization in 18th and 19th century French and British authors such as Rousseau, Tocqueville, and Mill. She explores themes like ethics, liberalism, empire, and popular sovereignty. Currently, she is writing a book manuscript on Alexis de Tocqueville’s foreign policy prescriptions.

Education:

• Ph.D., Boston College, 2018
• B.A., Middlebury College, 2010

Previous Affiliations:

• 2019-2020 Ethics Research Fellow at the U.S. Naval Academy’s Stockdale Center
• 2018-2019 Visiting Scholar at Harvard University’s Government Department
• Past teaching roles at Middlebury College, Carleton College, and Boston College

Teaching at Yale:

• DRST 005: Historical and Political Thought I (Fall 2021)
• PLSC 015: Ancient Political Philosophy (2021–2022)
• PLSC 302: Liberty, Equality, and Citizenship (2020–2022)
• PLSC 331: Individualism and Community (2021–2022)
• PLSC 306: Might and Right Among Nations (Spring 2023)

Awards:

• Ethics Research Fellowship (2019–2020)