Xavier Marquez, a political science postdoctoral fellow at the University of Notre Dame, has received the Leo Strauss Prize for the best dissertation in political theory for 2005-06.
Awarded annually by the American Political Science Association, the prize is named after the distinguished political philosopher Leo Strauss, a professor of political science at the University of Chicago from 1944 to 1969, who is recognized for his work in the recovery of ancient political thought.
Titled “Political Knowledge in Plato’s `Statesman,’” Marquez’s dissertation argues that the statesman is a higher and rarer type of human being than the philosopher because the statesman actually has the comprehensive knowledge a philosopher only seeks.
“Xavier’s winning the Strauss Prize is a signal honor for him, the department and the University,” said Catherine Zuckert, Notre Dame’s Nancy Reeves Dreux Professor of Political Science and the director of Marquez’s dissertation. “He competed with representatives of the most prestigious programs in the country, and now joins a list of young political theorists who have gone on to have notable careers.”
Marquez will begin teaching in Notre Dame’s political science department as an Edward Sorin postdoctoral fellow, an appointment granted to recent Notre Dame doctoral graduates who show exceptional promise of having an outstanding career as a university scholar.
Originally published by at newsinfo.nd.edu on June 28, 2006.