2004 Leo Strauss Award

For the best doctoral dissertation completed and accepted in 2002 or 2003 in the field of political philosophy.

2004 Award Committee: Ian Shapiro, Yale University, chair; Will Kymlicka, Queen's University; and Eric A. MacGilvray, University of Sydney.

Recipient: Christina Tarnopolsky, Harvard University

Dissertation: "Plato and the Politics of Shame"

Dissertation Chairs: Nathon Tarcov and Charles Larmore, University of Chicago

Citation: Tarnopolsky provides a rich exploration of the many uses to which shame is put in Plato's Gorgias. The contrast between "flattering" and "respectful" shame she elucidates is both analytically crisp and ripe for further development and application. She does an exemplary job of reading her chosen text carefully and critically, and she demonstrates great insight in elaborating the various ways in which the mechanism of shame operates for good and ill. Hers is therefore that rare textually-oriented dissertation which succeeds in making a clear and important contribution to our understanding of contemporary beliefs and practices. The work is lucid, elegant, and captivating. It draws the reader into sympathetic engagement with Tarnopolsky's project.