Mathias Thaler

Professor of Political Theory, University of Edinburgh

Author: Mathias Thaler

  • Sabbatical plans

    I am lucky enough to have been granted research leave for the Academic Year 2024/25. To support my research during that period, I will spend the autumn term (September to December 2024) at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study (SCAS), in Uppsala; and the spring term (February to June 2025) at the Netherlands Institute for…

  • Inaugural Lecture

    I will hold my inaugural lecture as Professor at the University of Edinburgh on May 8, 2024. The registration for the event is here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/inaugural-lecture-professor-mathias-thaler-tickets-710213175727 And here is a short abstract of the lecture: Stuck in the Anthropocene interregnum? Imagination and action in a climate-changed world In this lecture, I plan to introduce my overall…

  • WJM Mackenzie Prize

    No Other Planet has been shortlisted for the PSA WJM Mackenzie Prize 2023. The award is given each year to the best book in the entire field of political studies, not just political theory. More information on the other shortlisted nominees can be found here: https://www.psa.ac.uk/psa/news/mackenzie-book-prize-2023/24-shortlist-announced

  • Paper now out in print

    My paper “Eco-Miserabilism and Radical Hope” is now out in print with the American Political Science Review. You can find it open access here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/ecomiserabilism-and-radical-hope-on-the-utopian-vision-of-postapocalyptic-environmentalism/FC59FF8147EDFAADBBE6097FFBA6EFD8

  • New Review of Naming Violence

    Eric Ross (University of Massachusetts Amherst) has just published a generous review of book Naming Violence (2018). Here is an excerpt from the insightful text: “In Naming Violence, Mathias Thaler presents a compelling and novel framework to further understand the interdependence between language and our collective conceptualization of political violence. Thaler’s primary intervention is that the…

  • Call for Papers: Utopia and Failure (II) – Newcastle, September 10-11, 2024

    Check out the CfP for the second event of our AHRC Networking grant: https://failingbetter.sps.ed.ac.uk/workshops/second-workshop-in-newcastle The deadline for applying is December 5, 2023.

  • New Paper

    A new paper of mine has just been published (online first) in New Political Science. The full bibliographic information is here: Thaler, Mathias “Utopia, Breakdown, Repair: Failure and Success in Social Dreaming.” New Political Science, 2023 (online first), 1–17. Abstract: A common charge against utopianism is that any attempt to create blueprints for a better future disregards…

  • New review of No Other Planet

    Benjamin L. McKean (Ohio State University) has just published a thoughtful and generous review of No Other Planet in Contemporary Political Theory. An excerpt can be found here: “As this overview suggests, No Other Planet covers an enormous amount of ground, drawing from an admirably wide range of texts and showing an impressive mastery of multiple literatures.…

  • New review of No Other Planet in Global Policy

    Ruth Houghton (Newcastle) wrote a generous and insightful review of my new book for Global Policy. Here is an excerpt: “The book is an excellent example of cross-disciplinary work, bringing together political philosophy, insights from literary studies, and environmental humanities. In that respect, No Other Planet is an important work for scholars working across utopian…

  • Call for Papers – Utopia and Failure – Workshop in Edinburgh (Spring 2024)

    This is a Call for Papers for a workshop I am co-organizing in Edinburgh in May 2024, together with Professor Davina Cooper (KCL) and Dr Ruth Houghton (Newcastle). The workshop will be part of a larger AHRC Networking Grant on utopia and failure, starting in late 2023. The AHRC announcement is here: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FX009122%2F1#/tabOverview With the…