Lexi Neame

Dr. Lexi Neame is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Political Science at Reed College, specializing in the history of political thought, contemporary democratic and feminist theory, and the politics of science, technology, and the environment. Her research interrogates public epistemic authority through Hannah Arendt’s philosophy and interdisciplinary science and technology studies, supported by grants from Humanities Without Walls Consortium and the Mellon Foundation. She teaches courses like The Human Condition, Democracy and Data, and Body Politics, emphasizing critical reading, thinking, and writing.

• Education: PhD in Political Science and Graduate Certificate in Science in Human Culture from Northwestern University
• Prior Positions: Postdoctoral Fellow/Lecturer at Stanford University, Dissertation Fellow at University of California, Santa Barbara

Research Focus: Explores how scientific knowledge circulates in democratic societies, analyzing climate science, data politics, and epistemic breakdowns. Her book Common Knowledge: Public Epistemic Authority and Democratic Faith critiques technocratic and educative responses to “post-truth” crises, advocating for knowledge infrastructures as sites of democratic world-building.

Scientific Awards:

• Finalist, Review of Politics Prize 2018

Teaching Innovation: Co-designed interdisciplinary courses such as Earth, Nature, World (with Mellon Environmental Humanities Incubator) and Democracy and Data, blending political theory with empirical research and digital media analysis. She advises senior thesis students and organizes workshops like Provocations at UC Santa Barbara’s Center for Humanities and Social Change.