I am Rosemarie Wagner, a Lecturer on Social Studies at Harvard University. I am a political theorist whose work spans from historical to contemporary in its focus.  My research interests center on questions of the line between legal and non-legal action that's deemed politically legitimate, and on the relationship between the self and others legally, politically, socially, and morally.

I am currently working on two book projects, the first of which is largely based on my PhD dissertation, is Laws Living and Armed: the political and legal theory of Thomas Hobbes.  This manuscript has two broad aims: to show the full complexity Thomas Hobbes's distinctive legal theory, and to use that legal theory as a lens to recast and resolve persistent problems in Hobbes's political theory.  This is primarily a conceptual and textual analysis, but one which relies heavily on the legal and political historical contexts in which Hobbes was working. My second book project, How to Be a Person, was also born of research done for my dissertation but has since taken on much broader scope.  How to Be a Person examines the modern foundations of personhood, examining how and when and under what circumstances people became persons, legally, socially, religiously, and politically. It focuses on intersecting case studies of people with mental disabilities, mothers, colonial subjects, incarcerated subjects, prisoners of war, children, and immigrants.  I focus on early modern British personhood and the ways in which the individual was co-created with the modern state. How to Be a Person is rooted in my interest in legal and political history, as well as my interest in moral and queer theory and questioning the sources of our contemporary ideas of personhood and their limits.

I earned my PhD in Political Science with a Designated Emphasis in Renaissance and Early Modern Studies from UC Berkeley in Summer 2019. I received an MSc in Political Theory from the London School of Economics and a BA in Philosophy and Political Science from Tufts University. I am proficient in Latin, Spanish, and French.  I pride myself on my teaching and have extensive experience working with students in seminars, large lectures, and as an advisor. I was awarded The Stanley Hoffmann Prize for Excellence in Teaching from Harvard College in 2020.  I am currently teaching Introduction to Social Studies, a year-long modern social theory course which runs from Thomas Hobbes to Partha Chatterjee. In Spring 2023 I will teach a Junior Tutorial titled Solidarity in Theory and Action, which examines post-foundationalist theories of group action, as well as real-world case studies of coalitions and how they work. Please see my Teaching Portfolio for extensive syllabi and student evaluations.

https://socialstudies.fas.harvard.edu/people/rosemarie-wagner