Brenna R. Strauss
brenna.r.strauss@gmail.com
617-903-0571
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Political Science, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA (August 2012)
Field: Political Theory
Subfields: American Politics, International Politics
B.A. in Liberal Arts, St. John’s College, Santa Fe, NM (May 2004)
Major: double major in philosophy and history of science and mathematics
Minor: double minor in classical studies and comparative literature
DISSERTATION
“Disharmony in the Constitution: The Education of Women and the Spartan Regime”
Using the treatments of Sparta by Aristotle and Plato as case studies, this dissertation takes
up the following question: how does the role and the education of women affect the character
of a regime, according to ancient Greek political philosophers? Although ancient Greek
political science certainly cannot be applied without qualification to modern liberal
democracies, it can provide a useful alternative perspective. As women begin to become the
majority in universities and in the workforce, it is important to understand what it means for
women to be the social and political equals of men. Moreover, such an investigation may be
able to provide some insight into the tensions over women’s rights in modernizing Islamic
countries.
COMMITTEE
Christopher Bruell (2008-2010)
Robert Bartlett (2010-present)
Christopher Kelly
Nasser Behnegar
AWARDS
The Donald J. White Award for Excellence in Teaching, Boston College (2009)
The Don Cook Award for Outstanding Leadership in the Senior Class, St. John’s
College (2004)
Outstanding Leadership in the College Community, St. John’s College (2004)
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Brenna R. Strauss
FELLOWSHIPS AND GRANTS
Thomas W. Smith Post-doctoral Fellow, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA (2012-2013)
Tikvah Foundation scholarship for the Middlebury Hebrew Language Program (summer
2011)
Ernest Fortin Memorial Foundation summer grant for dissertation research (2010)
Jack Miller Center—Veritas Fund Fellow, Department of Political Science, Boston
College (2009-2010)
Ernest Fortin Memorial Foundation summer grant for the study of Biblical Hebrew (2008)
Ernest Fortin Memorial Foundation summer grant for the study of Modern French (2007)
Department of Political Science fellowship, Boston College (2005-2009)
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Teaching Assistant: How to Rule the World, Introduction to Political Theory,
Department of Political Science, Boston College. Prof. Robert Bartlett (fall 2012)
Symposia on Religion and Politics, The Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life
(2010-2012)
Designed, facilitated, and successfully executed non-credit discussion groups on seminal
texts in American political history based on the Great Books seminar model. Two
concurrent groups—one for undergraduate and graduate students and one for faculty,
staff, and alumni—read selected primary texts centered around a specific theme in six to
eight sessions over the course of each academic year.
Teaching Fellow (Instructor): The Question of Justice. Department of Political Science,
Boston College (fall 2008)
By examining the works of Thucydides, Plato, Hobbes, Kant, and Rousseau, this seminar
seeks to shed light on questions that are at the core of the great controversies between
political orders and even between political parties.
Teaching Assistant: Introduction to International Politics. Department of Political
Science, Boston College. Prof. Hiroshi Nakazato (spring 2009); Prof. Donald Hafner
(spring 2007)
In the discussion sections, students read case studies illustrating the basic concepts
introduced in the lecture. Writing and grammar were a key element in this course.
Teaching Assistant: Protest Politics in Latin America. Department of Political Science,
Boston College. Prof. Jennifer Purnell (spring 2006)
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Brenna R. Strauss
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Tikvah Project Summer Graduate Workshop, Princeton University. “Disharmony in the
Constitution: The Education of Women in the Spartan Regime” (August 2010)
New England Political Science Association, Boston, MA. “Disharmony in the
Constitution: The Education of Women in the Spartan Regime” (November 2010)
ACADEMIC SERVICE
Graduate Research Assistant. The Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life,
Boston College (fall 2010 - summer 2012)
Assisted the director, Alan Wolfe, and associate director, Erik Owens, in planning, event
logistics, marketing, and publicity for eight to ten events a semester; supervised and
mentored three research assistants in event planning and writing.
Conference Organizer and Secretary. Boston College Department of Political Science
Interdisciplinary Graduate Student Conference on the Politics of Human Rights (20092010)
OTHER SERVICE
Co-Chair, St. John’s College Santa Fe Class of 2004 Armillary Sphere Committee (2004present)
Compiled specifications for the commission of an operational replica of 16th century
astronomer Tycho Brahe’s second equatorial armillary sphere (to be installed at St.
John’s College by 2024) and oversaw a class fundraising campaign which has raised over
$31,000.
LANGUAGES
Ancient Greek (reading proficiency)
Modern French (reading proficiency)
Biblical and Modern Hebrew (elementary proficiency)
COMPUTER SKILLS
Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, and Acrobat Professional
Adobe CQ Web Content Management
Mac OS X
Microsoft Office Suite
Windows 7, Windows Vista
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