Christopher Whidden
Teaching Professor
Dr. Whidden is a Teaching Professor in the Interdisciplinary Honors Program. His research focuses on ancient depictions of empire, virtue, and statesmanship, especially in the writings of Xenophon and Plato.
Dr. Whidden teaches a variety of honors courses, including Western Intellectual Traditions (HONR 101 and HONR 102) and The U.S. Experience (HONR 203). He has received the Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Freshmen and is a Jack Miller Fellow.
Education
- Ph.D., Political Science, Northern Illinois University, 2009
- M.A., Philosophy, Northern Illinois University, 2006
- M.A., Political Science, Northern Illinois University, 2003
- B.A., Philosophy with Honors, Wake Forest University, 1998
Research Interests
- History of political philosophy
- Politics and literature
- American political thought
Courses Taught
HONR 101 Western Intellectual Traditions: Antiquity to the Middle Ages
HONR 102 Western Intellectual Traditions: Renaissance to Modernity
HONR 203 The U.S. Experience
HONR 216 Encountering Europe
PLSC 100 Political Theory
PLSC 101 American Politics
PLSC 302 American Political Thought
PLSC 314 Liberalism
PLSC 373 Politics and Literature
Publications/Research Listings
Whidden, Christopher. “Hares, Hounds, Herds, and Hives in Xenophon’s Cyropaedia,” Interpretation 35.3 (2008): 229-240.
Whidden, Christopher. “Cyrus’s Imperial Household: An Aristotelian Reading of Xenophon’s Cyropaedia,” Polis 25.1 (2008): 31-62.
Whidden, Christopher. “The Persian Regime and Cyrus’s Persian Education in Xenophon’s Cyropaedia,” Review of Politics 69.4 (2007): 539-567.
Whidden, Christopher. “Deception in Xenophon’s Cyropaedia,” Interpretation 34.2 (2007): 129-156.
Whidden, Christopher. “True Statesmanship as True Rhetoric in Plato’s Gorgias,” Polis 22.2 (2005): 206-229.
Awards
Provost’s Award for Excellence in Teaching Freshmen, 2021.