Profile

Biography

Sue Mendus (BA Wales, BPhil Oxon) is a political philosopher who studied Classics and Philosophy as an undergraduate at the University of Wales, and Philosophy as a graduate student at the University of Oxford. Her graduate work focused on early Platonic dialogues and on the logical form of identity statements. She now specializes in modern political philosophy in the Anglo-American tradition.

Research

Overview

Sue's current research covers three main areas:

1. Terrorism and Religious Toleration. This is the subject of her 2007 Freilich Lectures, and is also a central theme of her 3rd year module, Terrorism, Religion and Toleration. Publications arising from this research, including articles on Religious Exemptions and Bearing the Costs of Religious Belief, will be published as journal articles in 2011/2012.
2. Privacy in Public Life. This work develops and deepens themes in Sue's most recent book, Politics and Morality, (Polity Press, 2009).
3. Puzzles about Democracy. This work arises from the Tampere Society Argumentum 2008 at which Sue gave the Plenary Lecture, and also from the 2010 Tampere Society Argumenta at which Sue presented new work on 'Civil Society'.

For more details of current research and for links to some articles and work in progress see Sue's personal web page.

Areas of interest

Modern Anglo-American political philosophy, especially theories of toleration, theories of justice, Kant's moral and political philosophy, and philosophy and literature.

Publications

Selected publications

• (2009) Politics and Morality, Polity Press
• (2008) 'Private Faces in Public Places' in Kramer, Grant et al (eds) The Legacy of H L A Hart, Oxford University Press
• (2008) 'Life's Ethical Symphony' in British Journal of Philosophy of Education
• (2006) 'Innocent Before God: Politics, Morality and the Case of Billy Budd' in Anthony O’Hear (ed) Political Philosophy, Cambridge University Press

External activities

Memberships

• 2009 - 2012, Vice President (Social Sciences), British Academy

Teaching

Undergraduate

• Contemporary Political Philosophy
• Terrorism, Religion and Toleration

Teaching materials

• Freilich lectures
  • Listen to Sue Mendus's Freilich lectures on 'Religious Toleration in an Age of Terrorism'
  • Freilich Lecture 1 (MS Word , 89kb)
  • Freilich Lecture 2 (MS Word , 77kb)
  • Freilich Lecture 3 (MS Word , 70kb)
  • Freilich Lecture 4 (MS Word , 73kb)
• Lecture on Headscarves (MS Word , 63kb)
• Text of Should religion be special (MS Word , 60kb)
• Listen to Sue Mendus's contribution to Multiculturalism Bites