Dr. Rob Goodman

Dr. Rob Goodman is a political theorist joining the Department of Politics and Public Administration. He received his PhD in political science from Columbia University and was previously a Mellon postdoctoral researcher at McGill University.

Dr. Goodman’s research interests include rhetoric, classics, and the history of political thought. His book manuscript, Eloquence and Its Conditions, investigates the development of models of skilled speech in classical antiquity, as well as their translation into modern institutional settings. It proposes that these models remain a valuable resource for critiquing the current state of political speech.

Dr. Goodman’s academic work has been published in the European Journal of Political Theory (2019), the American Political Science Review (2018), Redescriptions (2017), History of Political Thought (2016), The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy (2014), and the Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal (2010). He is also the co-author of two books: A Mind at Play, a biography of Claude Shannon (Simon & Schuster, 2017), and Rome’s Last Citizen, a book on Cato the Younger and the Roman Republic (Thomas Dunne, 2012).

Before beginning his doctoral studies, Dr. Goodman worked as speechwriter for US House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Senator Chris Dodd. He studied at George Washington University (MA in Public Policy) and Duke University (BA in English).

"I was impressed by the diversity of interests and experiences in the Department of Politics and Public Administration, by the kindness of Ryerson's faculty and staff, and by the university's strong commitment to undergraduate and graduate education."

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