Brian Wolfel
Visiting Assistant Professor of Government

Brian Wolfel received his Ph.D. in political science from Syracuse University in 2022, having pursued a dual concentration in political theory and American politics. He also received his M.P.H. from University of Arizona, and B.A. in government from Cornell University. His dissertation constructs American Transcendentalism, a nineteenth-century philosophical movement, in the contexts of contemporary normative political philosophy and American political development. Transcendentalist philosophers such as Thomas Carlyle, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau sought to theorize a modern iteration of Plato’s ancient philosophy that would serve as a basis for reform and yield social, economic, and environmental justice. Wolfel's research is interdisciplinary in scope, and he has articles published or forthcoming in Telos, Utopian Studies, Modern Diplomacy, and Resilience.
Recent Courses Taught
The American Political Process
Professional Affiliations
American Political Science Association
Northeastern Political Science Association
Appointed to the Faculty
2022Educational Background
Ph.D., Syracuse University, Maxwell School
M.A., Syracuse University, Maxwell School
M.P.H., University of Arizona, College of Public Health
B.A., Cornell University