Melissa Lane

About

Class of 1943 Professor of Politics
Director of University Center for Human Values
Princeton University

Melissa Lane is the Class of 1943 Professor of Politics at Princeton University, and director of the University Center for Human Values. She is also an associated faculty member in the Department of Classics and the Department of Philosophy at Princeton. As of August 1, 2023, for a term of three academic years, she is also the 50th Professor of Rhetoric at Gresham College, a non-degree-granting institution founded in London in 1597, delivering an extended series of public lectures which are livestreamed and online here: https://www.youtube.com/@GreshamCollege

Melissa Lane’s newest book, Of Rule and Office: Plato’s Ideas of the Political (PUP, 2023) is capturing attention in public discussion, elaboration, and review. Praise includes:

“[A] meticulous new analysis of Plato’s constitutionalism. . . With the appearance of Melissa Lane’s authoritative Of Rule and Office, debate over the evolution of Plato’s discussion of the vulnerabilities of political office and the various ways in which rule and office might be understood must be nearly at an end.” (Andrew David Irvine, Times Literary Supplement)

“[A] major contribution to our faltering efforts to understand the challenges of politics across the world” (John Dunn, History of European Ideas)

A “great achievement” written with “extraordinary scrupulousness”: “What Melissa Lane’s book does is to drill down through all the layers, as others have not done, to the political bedrock below” (Christopher Rowe, Mind)

Latest attention includes (see more further down this page against the image of the book):

Op ed in the LA Times online-first on 3/23/2024, by Melissa Lane and Jane Manners

“Keeping Democracy Alive” with Burt Cohen on Plato: The Benefits of Acting Justly

“The Political Mike” with Michael Taylor (Episode 122)

“Facepalm America” with Beowulf Rochlen (April 3)

Coming soon: Interview with Scotty Monty’s “Timeless Leadership” podcast

Book symposium in History of European Ideas: Introduction by John Dunn; Review articles by Matthew Landauer, Matthew Simonton, Mark Philp, Veronica Rodriguez-Blanco; Response by Melissa Lane.

Book review by Christopher Rowe in Mind

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Research Interests

Melissa Lane is a political theorist whose work focuses primarily on ancient Greek philosophy, especially the writings of Plato. She also works on the reception and uses of Plato, informing work which she also does in contemporary political theory, including especially on issues in regard to scientific knowledge, communication, and climate change.

New Publication

Melissa Lane’s major new monograph is Of Rule and Office: Plato’s Ideas of the Political, published by Princeton University Press on 20 June 2023.

In fall and winter 2023, the book was the topic of panel sessions of the American Political Science Association and UK-IVR Association for law and philosophy, and of book launches at Oxford, Princeton, and Labyrinth Books. Symposia on the book have been commissioned to date by the journals History of European Ideas [now published with Introduction by John Dunn], Polis, and The Review of Politics.

In addition to more recent articles and discussions listed on the top right of this page, further attention includes:

An article about Lane’s new book in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette here – subscription required

Political Theory Review podcast, interviewed by Jeffrey Church, here

Classical Wisdom podcast, interviewed by Anya Leonard, here

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