Professor Manfred Steger
Bio
My main research interests are in global politics, global studies, and political theory and revolve around globalization, political ideologies, comparative political theory, and critical discourse analysis. In addition to my professorial appointment in the Political Science Department, I serve as the Senior Advisor to the Dean of the College of Social Sciences on International Education and Globalization.
I am an editorial board member of the American Political Science Review and have chaired both APSA's New Political Science Section and the Steering Committee of the Global Studies Consortium. I served as an academic consultant on globalization for the US State Department and as an advisor to the PBS TV series, "Heaven on Earth: The Rise and Fall of Socialism." I have authored or edited 20+ books, including: The Rise of the Global Imaginary: Political Ideologies from the French Revolution to the Global War on Terror (Oxford University Press, 2008); the award-winning Globalisms: The Great Ideological Struggle of the 21st Century 3rd ed. (Rowman & Littlefield, 2009) and the bestselling Globalization: A Very Short Introduction 3rd ed. (Oxford University Press, 2013). My most recent book, Justice Globalism: Ideology, Crises, Policy (Sage, 2013) is a study of the political ideology and policy proposals of the global justice movement. I have received several major teaching and research awards. My research grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Australian Research Council, RMIT University, and other institutions add up to nearly $2 million.
A former competitive sportsman, truck driver, Zen monk, and banker, I left my native Austria in 1986 to launch my academic career in the United States. I received both my BA and MA from this wonderful department (1990; 1991) and then completed my PhD in political theory and comparative politics at Rutgers University (1995). After a short teaching stint at Whitman College, I spent a decade teaching in the Department of Politics and Government at Illinois State University before taking up an administrative and research position as Head of School of International and Community Studies and Director of the Globalism Research Centre at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia. I continue to be affiliated with RMIT University's Global Cities Research Institute. My hobbies and favorite things include (not necessarily in this order): Zen meditation, finding out as much as possible about the history of ancient Rome (including collecting Roman coins), reading, traveling, exercising, movies, baseball & soccer, Australian wine, Italian & Indian food, engaged students, alternative-energy cars, lots of music (classical, hard rock, blues, and world music), and, most of all, spending time with my soul mate, Perle. I consider myself an embedded cosmopolitan eternally in love with Hawai‘i and its people.
Courses Taught
Tradition of Political Philosophy (POLS 611)
Few thinkers have been declared "irrelevant" and "out of date" with such frequency as Karl Marx. After the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 and the ongoing European Debt Crisis, however, global capitalism has been shaken to its core. Suddenly, Marx-inspired critiques of the global financial regime are once again stimulating anti-systemic social movements like 'Occupy Wall Street' around the world.
Fall 2012 POLS 611 Syllabus [PDF]
CV
Fields of Interest
- Global Politics/International Relations
- Globalization
- Comparative Political Theory (East-West)
- Social Theory
- History of Political Thought
Links
RMIT Global Cities Research Institute
RMIT Globalism Research Centre
New Political Science Section, APSA
Heaven on Earth: The Rise and Fall of Socialism (Interview with Professor Steger)
Zen Interview with Manfred B. Steger