James Martel

James Martel is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science. He teaches American and European political theory, continental philosophy and theories of sexuality and gender. He is the author of two books, Love is a Sweet Chain: Desire, Autonomy, and Friendship in Liberal Political Theory" (Routledge, 2001) and Subverting the Leviathan: Reading Thomas Hobbes as a Radical Democrat, (Columbia University Press, 2007). He is also beginning a new book tentatively entitled Divine Violence: Walter Benjamin, Sovereignty and the Eschatology of Power. His recent articles include “Strong Sovereign, Weak Messiah: Hobbes and the rhetoric of the Christian Commonwealth.” in Theory and Event, Volume 7, Issue 4, 2004; “The Spectacle of the Leviathan: Thomas Hobbes, Guy Debord and Walter Benjamin on Representation and its Misuses” Law, Culture, and the Humanities. 2006; 2: 67-90; and "’Amo: Volo ut sis’: Love, willing and Arendt’s reluctant embrace of sovereignty,” Philosophy and Social Criticism,  forthcoming, 2007.

Prior to teaching at SFSU, Professor Martel taught at the political science departments of Wellesley College and Amherst College as well as the department of rhetoric at UC Berkeley. He got his Ph.D. at UC Berkeley in the department of political science in December of 1995.