Professor Hirschmann works in the history of political thought with a specialty on the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries; feminist theory; analytical philosophy; disability theory; and the intersection of political theory and public policy on issues pertaining to gender and sexuality. She is a former Vice-President of the American Political Science Association, former vice-chair of the department, and a past Director of the Program on Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies and the The Center for Research in Feminist, Queer, and Transgender Studies.
Professor Hirschmann is an expert on the concept of freedom. Her current book project, Freedom, Power, and Disability examines the idea of freedom from the perspective of disability, considering the ways in which disability sets the limiting condition for freedom in the history of political theory and carries through to contemporary thinking about the concept, and considers the ways in which the body is both socially constructed and materially constituted. Her previous book Gender, Class, and Freedom in Modern Political Theory (Princeton University Press, 2008) considers the concept of freedom as it developed in the canon of political thought from the 17th to 19th centuries and examines how issues of gender and class affected the dominant conceptions of freedom. Prior to that, The Subject of Liberty: Toward a Feminist Theory of Freedom (Princeton University Press 2003) took a more contemporary approach and considered the concept of freedom in the context of political and social issues such as domestic violence, Islamic veiling, and U.S. welfare reform. This book won the 2004 Victoria Schuck award from the American Political Science Association for the best book on women and politics, and Choice recommended this book as "essential" and "feminist theory at its best."
Prof. Hirschmann has also published many articles in journals such as The American Political Science Review, The Journal of Politics, Hypatia: Journal of Feminist Philosophy, Politics & Gender, and many others as well as numerous edited volumes.
Professor Hirschmann has held a number of prestigious fellowships, most recently spending her 2017-18 sabbatical on fellowships from the American Council of Learned Societies, the GlaxoSmithKline Senior Fellow at the National Humanities Center, and a Fernand Braudel Senior Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. She was also awarded a fellowship from the Stanford Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, which she declined. Previously, she was a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and the Bunting Institute of Radcliffe College (now the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study), The University Center for Human Values at Princeton University, and the Penn Humanities Center. She has also held a previous fellowship from the American Council of Learned Societies as well as a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities. She has also served on the editorial boards of several leading journals such as the Journal of Politics and Politics and Gender, and served on the local advisory board for Hypatia.
Professor Hirschmann teaches courses in Modern Political Theory, Contemporary Political Theory, American Political Theory, Freedom, Power, and Equality, Introduction to Feminist Theory and Gender, Power, and Feminist Theory. She also was a professor in the Department of Government at Cornell University for 12 years, as well as Swarthmore College, before coming to Penn in 2002.
- Disability rights and theory
- Gender policy and discrimination
- History of Political Thought
- Modern Political Theory
- Feminist Theory
- Contemporary Political Thought
- Theoretical Approaches to Public Policy
- Modern Political Thought
- Political Theory and Public Policy
- Feminist Political Thought
- Contemporary Political Thought
- American Political Thought
- Gender and Political Theory
Books
- Rethinking Obligation: A Feminist Method for Political Theory (Cornell University Press, 1992) https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/74764
- Revisioning the Political: Feminist Interpretations of Traditional Concepts in Western Political Theory (with Christine Di Stefano, Westview Press, 1996) https://www.routledge.com/Revisioning-The-Political-Feminist-Reconstructions-Of-Traditional-Concepts-In-Western-Political-Theory/Hirschmann-Stefano/p/book/9780813386409?srsltid=AfmBOoqpTGTVJAeG8ylNNSlWXARidDrSqz8d4r7GzoPzVHXaAcOG6saS
- Women and Welfare: Theory and Practice in the U.S. and Europe (with Ulrike Liebert, Rutgers University Press 2001) https://www.amazon.com/Women-Welfare-Theory-Practice-United/dp/B000H2MU2M
- The Subject of Liberty: Toward a Feminist Theory of Freedom (Princeton University Press 2003, https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691096254/the-subject-of-liberty?srsltid=AfmBOooov3J3D4xMCh6Mps2Y7XwBOj--5q6tsHxVeebqWnl0TgJ3loWa
- Feminist Interpretations of John Locke (with Kirstie McClure, Penn State University Press 2007) https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-02952-8.html
- Gender, Class, and Freedom in Modern Political Theory (Princeton University Press, 2008) https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691129891/gender-class-and-freedom-in-modern-political-theory?srsltid=AfmBOopoyR2oKcwXBaGQlmiwfQ9Vit0wOZkzV3sNKveBbhmCtZ3CXq02
- Feminist Interpretations of Thomas Hobbes (with Joanne Wright, Penn State University Press, 2013) https://www.psupress.org/books/titles/978-0-271-05635-7.html
- Civil Disabilities: Theory, Citizenship and Belonging (with Beth Linker, The University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011) https://hss.sas.upenn.edu/content/civil-disabilities-citizenship-membership-and-belonging
- Citizenship on the Edge: Sex/Gender/Race (with Debra Thomas, The University of Pennsylvania Press, 2013) https://www.pennpress.org/9780812253672/citizenship-on-the-edge/
- Political Theory and Disability (with Barbara Arneil, Cambridge University Press, 2017). https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/disability-and-political-theory/3A08F52B8CA6B18CDC6406D9D5D6F04F
Journal Articles (Chronological order, most recent last)
"Freedom, Recognition and Obligation: A Feminist Approach to Political Theory," The American Political Science Review, Vol. 83, No. 4, December, 1989, pp. 1227-1244.
- Reprinted in The Duty to Obey the Law: Selected Philosophical Readings, ed. William A. Edmundson, Rowman & Littlefield, 1999.
"Feminism and Liberal Theory" (with Richard Sinopoli), The American Political Science Review, Vol. 85, No. 1, March 1991.
"Political Obligation, Freedom and Feminism" (with Carole Pateman), The American Political Science Review, Vol. 86, No. 1, March 1992.
"Political Theory in Albania: An Exercise in Democratic Culture" (with Julie Mostov and Michael Mosher), PS: Political Science and Politics, vol. 28, no. 1, March 1995.
"Domestic Violence and the Theoretical Discourse of Freedom," Frontiers: Journal of Women Studies, vol. 16, no.1, Fall 1995.
"Toward a Feminist Theory of Freedom," Political Theory, vol. 24, no. 1, February 1996.
- Reprinted in Gender Struggles: Practical Approaches to Contemporary Feminism, ed. Constance Mui and Julien S. Murphy, Rowman and Littlefield, April 2002.
- Reprinted in The Liberty Reader, ed. David Miller, Paradigm Publishers and Edinburgh University press, 2006.
"Eastern Veiling, Western Freedom?" Review of Politics, vol. 59, no. 3, summer 1997.
- Reprinted in Border Crossings: Toward A Comparative Political Theory, ed. Fred R. Dallmayr, Rowman & Littlefield, 1999.
"Feminist Standpoint as Postmodern Strategy," Women and Politics, vol. 18, no 4, fall 1997.
- Reprinted in Feminist Politics and Standpoint Theory, ed. Sally Kenney, Haworth Press, 1997.
- Reprinted in The Feminist Standpoint Theory Reader: Intellectual and Political Controversies, ed. Sandra Harding, Routledge Press, 2004.
“Eastern Veiling, Western Feminism, and the Question of Free Agency,” Constellations: An International Journal of Critical and Democratic Theory, vol. 5, no. 3, September 1998.
“Difference as an Occasion for Rights: A Feminist Rethinking of Rights, Liberalism, and Difference,” in Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, vol. 2, no. 1, summer 1999.
- Reprinted in Feminism, Identity, and Difference, ed. Susan J. Hekman, London: Anthony Green Publishers, 2000.
“Liberal-Conservativism Once and Again: Locke’s Essay on the Poor Law and U.S. Welfare Reform.” Constellations: An International Journal of Critical and Democratic Theory, Special Issue on Property, vol. 9, no. 3, September 2002.
“Abortion, Self-Defense, and Involuntary Servitude,” Texas Journal of Women and The Law, Subversive Legacies Commemorative Issue, vol. 13, no. 1, Spring 2003.
“Response to Friedman and Brison: Symposium on Nancy Hirschmann’s The Subject of Liberty,” Hypatia: International Journal of Feminist Philosophy, vol. 21, no. 4, fall 2006.
“Free Speech and Academic Politics,” review symposium, Perspectives on Politics, vol. 4, no. 4, December 2006.
“Gender Equality, Women, and Public Policy in Europe: A View From Feminist Theory,” European Politics & Society, vol. 6. No 1, spring/summer 2007.
“Mill, Political Economy, and Women’s Work,” American Political Science Review, Vol. 102, No. 2 May 2008.
“Wed to the Problem? The Place of Men and State in Families,” The Good Society, vol. 17, no. 1, 2008.
“Choosing Betrayal,” anchor essay in symposium on “Selling Out? Solidarity and Choice in the American Feminist Movement,” Perspectives on Politics, vol. 8, no. 1, March 2010.
“Mothers Who Care Too Much: What Feminists Get Wrong about Family, Work, and Equality,” lead essay in Boston Review, July/August 2010.
“Are Women Human? Response to Mackinnon,” invited contributor to On the Human, a National Humanities Center Project, March 14, 2011, http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/on-the-human/2011/03/are-women-human/#comment-5057
“Feminist Thoughts on Freedom and Disability,” Politics & Gender, vol. 8, no. 2, June 2012, 216-22 (originally published with the erroneous title, “Feminist Thoughts on Freedom and Rights,” erratum noted in v. 8 no. 4).
“Disability as a New Frontier for Feminist Intersectionality Research,” Politics & Gender, vol. 8 no. 3, September 2012, 396-405.
“Invisibility, Power, and Women's Lives: A Critical Introduction,” Journal of Historical Biography, Special Issue on “Disability and Disclosure,” guest ed. Allison Parker, vol. 13 (spring) 2013, 1-26.
“Queer/Fear: Disability, Sexuality, and The Other,” Journal of Medical Humanities, v. 34 n. 2, May 2013, 139-147.
“Disability, Feminism, and Intersectionality: A Critical Approach,” Radical Philosophy Review, v. 16 n. 2, 2013.
“Jane Addams as Feminist Heroine: Democracy and Contentious Politics,” Politics & Gender, v. 11, n. 3, September 2015, 554 - 561.
“Disability Rights, Social Rights, and Freedom,” Journal of International Political Theory, v 12, n. 1, February 2016, 42-57.
“The Sexual Division of Labor and the Split Paycheck,” Hypatia: Journal of Feminist Philosophy, v. 31, n. 3, Summer 2016, 651-67.
“Data, Transparency, and Political Theory,” QMMR: Qualitative and Multi-Method Research, v. 16, no. 2 (publishing date fall 2018, but published winter 2020)
“Mary Wollstonecraft, Social Constructivism, and the Idea of Freedom,” with Emily Regier, Politics & Gender, v. 15, n. 1, February 2020, 645–670.
“Diderot’s Letter on the Blind as a Work of Disability Political Theory,” Political Theory, v 48 n 1, February 2020, 84-108.
“Populism and Protest,” Frontiers of Sociology, 10 February 2021 https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2020.619235
“The Concept of Liberty and the Place of Power: A Feminist Perspective,” Revista Italiana di Filosofia Politica, v. 1, n. 1, 2021 69-86, https://riviste.fupress.net/index.php/rifp/index
“Family Matters,” with Tamara Metz, Boston Review, Issue 2023-4, Forum 28, 48.4
Articles in Edited Volumes (Chronological order, most recent last)
"Introduction: Revision, Reconstruction and the Challenge of the New" (with Christine Di Stefano), in Revisioning the Political: Feminist Reconstructions of Traditional Concepts in Western Political Theory, ed. Nancy J. Hirschmann and Christine Di Stefano, 1996, Westview Press.
"Revisioning Freedom: Relationship, Context, and the Politics of Empowerment" in Revisioning the Political: Feminist Reconstructions of Traditional Concepts in Western Political Theory, ed. Nancy J. Hirschmann and Christine Di Stefano, 1996, Westview Press.
"Rethinking Obligation for Feminism," in Revisioning the Political: Feminist Reconstructions of Traditional Concepts in Western Political Theory, ed. Nancy J. Hirschmann and Christine Di Stefano, 1996, Westview Press.
"The Theory and Practice of Freedom: The Case of Battered Women" in Reconstructing Political Theory: Feminist Perspectives, ed. Mary Lyndon Shanley and Uma Narayan, 1997, Pennsylvania State University Press.
"Sympathy, Empathy, and Obligation: A Feminist Rereading," in Rereading the Canon: Feminist Interpretations of David Hume, ed. Anne Jacobson, Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999.
"Equality," Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women, General Editors Cheris Kramarae and Dale Spender, Routledge Press, 2000.
"Liberal Feminism: North America," Routledge International Encyclopedia of Women, General Editors Cheris Kramarae and Dale Spender, Routledge Press, 2000.
"A Question of Freedom, A Question of Rights? Women and Welfare," in Women and Welfare: Theory and Practice in the United States and Europe, ed. N. Hirschmann and U. Liebert, Rutgers University Press, 2001.
“Engendering Welfare, Degendering Care: Theoretical and Comparative Perspectives on the U.S. and Europe” (with Ulrike Liebert) in Women and Welfare: Theory and Practice in the United States and Europe, ed. N. Hirschmann and U. Liebert, Rutgers University Press, 2001.
“Flathman, Freedom, and Feminism,” in Skepticism, Individuality, and Liberalism: Essays in Honor of Richard Flathman, ed. Bonnie Honig and David Mapel, University of Minnesota Press, 2002.
“The Future of Liberty in Democratic Politics? Or the Future of Democracy for the Politics of Liberty?” in The Future of Democratic Politics: Principles and Practices, ed. Gerald Pomper and Jason Weiner, The Walt Whitman Center, Rutgers University Press, 2004.
“Feminist Political Philosophy,” in Blackwell Guide to Feminist Philosophy, ed. Eva Feder Kittay and Linda Alcoff, Blackwell Publishers, 2006.
“Intersectionality before Intersectionality Was Cool: The Importance of Class to Feminist Interpretations of Locke,” in Rereading the Canon: Feminist Interpretations of John Locke, ed. Nancy J. Hirschmann and Kirstie M. McClure, Pennsylvania State University Press, 2007.
“Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye,” with Kirstie M. McClure, in Rereading the Canon: Feminist Interpretations of John Locke, ed. Nancy J. Hirschmann and Kirstie M. McClure, University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2007.
“Theorizing Freedom,” in Freedom: Reassessments and Rephrasing, ed. J. Ciprut, MIT Press, 2008.
“Stem Cells, Disability, and Abortion: A Feminist Approach to Equal Citizenship,” in Gender Equality: Dimensions of Women’s Equal Citizenship, ed. Linda McClain and Joanna Grossman, Cambridge University Press 2009.
"Poverty and Morality: A Feminist Perspective" in Poverty and Morality: Religious and Secular Perspectives, ed. William Galston and Peter Hoffenberg, Cambridge University Press, 2010
“Feminism,” Oxford Handbook of the History of Political Philosophy, ed. George Klosko, Oxford University Press, 2011.
“Gordon Schochet on Hobbes, Gratitude, and Women,” in Feminist Interpretations of Thomas Hobbes, co-edited with Joanne Wright, Pennsylvania State University Press, January 2013.
“Introduction: The Many Faces of ‘Mr. Hobs’”, with Joanne Wright, in Feminist Interpretations of Thomas Hobbes, co-edited with Joanne Wright, Pennsylvania State University Press, 2013.
“Berlin, Feminism, and Positive Liberty,” in Isaiah Berlin and the Politics of Freedom: “Two Concepts of Liberty” 50 years Later, ed. Bruce Baum, Routledge Press, 2013.
“Hobbes and Feminism,” The Bloomsbury Companion to Thomas Hobbes, ed. Sharon Lloyd, Continuum Press, 2013.
“Rawls, Freedom, and Disability: A Feminist Rereading,” in Feminist Interpretations of John Rawls, ed. Ruth Abbey, Pennsylvania State University Press, 2013.
“Freedom and (Dis)Ability in Early Modern Political Thought,” in Recovering Disability in Early Modern England, ed. Allison Hobgood and David Wood, Ohio State University Press, 2013.
“Gender and the Politics of Invisible Disability,” in Diversity and Social Justice: Transdisciplinary and Global Perspectives, ed. Mecke Nagel and Seth Asumah, State University of New York Press, 2013.
“Autonomy? Or Freedom? A Return to Psychoanalytic Theory” in Autonomy, Oppression and Gender, ed. Andrea Veltman and Mark Piper, Oxford University Press, 2014.
“Freedom,” in Encyclopedia of Political Thought, ed. Michael Gibbons, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, 2014.
“Political Obligation” in Encyclopedia of Political Thought, ed. Michael Gibbons, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, 2014.
“Invisible Disability: Seeing, Being, Power,” in Civil Disabilitites: Citizenship, Membership, and Belonging, ed. Nancy J. Hirschmann and Beth Linker, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015.
“Disability, Membership, and Belonging: A Critical Introduction,” with Beth Linker, in Civil Disabilitites: Citizenship, Membership, and Belonging, ed. Nancy J. Hirschmann and Beth Linker, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015.
“Equality, Freedom and the Sexual Division of Labour,” in Visions on Gender Equality, ed. Silvia Sansonetti and Francesca Bettio, produced by ENEGE: Network of Experts in the Field of Gender Equality for the European Commission, DG Justice Unit D2. 2015.
“Hobbes on the Family,” in The Oxford Handbook to Hobbes, ed. Kinch Hoekstra and Aloysius P. Martinich, Oxford University Press, 2016.
“Disabling Barriers, Enabling Freedom” in Disability and Political Theory, ed. Barbara Arneil and Nancy J. Hirschmann, Cambridge University Press, 2017.
“Rethinking ‘Cure’ and ‘Accommodation’” (with Rogers M. Smith), in Disability and Political Theory, ed. Barbara Arneil and Nancy J. Hirschmann, Cambridge University Press, 2017.
“Disability and Political Theory: An Introduction” (with Barbara Arneil), in Disability and Political Theory, ed. Barbara Arneil and Nancy J. Hirschmann, Cambridge University Press, 2017.
“Democracy, Depression, and Disability: Jean Elshtain on Democracy, Despair, and Hope”, in Jean Bethke Elshtain: Politics, Ethics, and Society, ed. Debra Erickson and Michael le Chevallier, University of Notre Dame Press, 2017.
“Wollstonecraft as a Freedom Theorist,” with Emily Regier, in The Wollstonecraftian Mind, ed. Eileen Hunt Botting, Alan Coffee, and Sandrine Berges, Routledge Press, 2019.
“What’s Right With Positive Liberty: Agency, Autonomy, and the Other,” in Interpreting Modernity: Essays on the work of Charles Taylor, ed. Jacob Levy and Daniel Weinstock, McGill-Queens University Press, 2021.
“Feminism and Freedom” in What is Freedom? Conversations with Historians, Philosophers, and Activists, ed. Toby Buckle, Oxford University Press, 2021.
“Disability and Positive Liberty,” in Positive Freedom: Past, Present, Future, ed. John Christman, Cambridge University Press, 2022.
"Introduction: Citizenship on the Edge," with D. Thomas, in Citizenship on the Edge: Sex/Gender/Race, co-edited with Deborah Thomas, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021.
"Afterword: Citizenship on the Edge in the Age of Covid,", in Citizenship on the Edge: Sex/Gender/Race, co-edited with Deborah Thomas, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021.
“Environmentalism and the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Spider-Man Far from Home as a Cautionary Tale” in The Politics of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ed. Nicholas Carnes and Lilly J. Goren, Kansas University Press, 2022.
“Disability Rights: A Question of Justice or Freedom?”, in Disability Social Rights, ed. Michael Stein and Malcolm Langford, Cambridge University Press, forthcoming, published online first at https://www.jus.uio.no/ior/english/people/aca/malcolml/2-hirschmann.pdf
"Disability, Environmental Theory, and Post-Colonial Practice," in Disability and the Environment in the Colonial Era, ed. Tatiana Konrad, Temple University Press, 2024.
“She-Hulk: Feminism Sardonic,” Reimagining Politics: The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Politics, and Identity, ed. Nick Carnes and Lilly Goren. University Press of Kansas, forthcoming in 2025.
Other Articles, Reviews, Broadcasts (Chronological order, most recent first)
“Disability and Philosophy”, Interviewed guest on Radical Philosophy Radio Program on station 3CR, Melbourne Australia. August 2018 https://www.3cr.org.au/radicalphilosophy/episode-201808161530/prof-nancy-hirschmann-disabilities
“Bringing Back the Body: A Political Theory of Disability”, the National Humanities Center podcasts, November 2017 https://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/hirschmann-bringing-back-the-body-political-theory-disability/
“Solving the ‘Very Complicated Puzzle’ of How Humanity Lives,” a “Humanities Moments” podcast, the National Humanities Center November 2017 http://humanitiesmoments.org/moment/hirschmann-very-complicated-puzzle
Review of The Minority Body by Elizabeth Barnes, Hypatia: Journal of Feminist Philosophy, online first http://hypatiaphilosophy.org/HRO/reviews/content/310 February 27, 2017.
Review of Sex and Social Justice and Women and Human Development by Martha Nussbaum, The American Political Science Review, vol. 96, no. 4, December 2002.
Review of Living Between Danger and Love: The Limits of Choice by Kathleen B. Jones, National Women’s Studies Association Journal, Volume 14, no. 2, March 2002.
Review of Rousseau’s Republican Romance by Elizabeth Wingrove, Political Theory, vol. 30, no. 1, February 2002.
Review of Enemy in the Mirror: Islamic Fundamentalism and the Limits of Modern Rationalism by Roxanne L. Euben, Review of Politics, vo. 63, no. 1, Winter 2001.
Review of Moral Boundaries: Toward A Feminist Theory of Care by Joan Tronto, Women and Politics, vol. 19, no. 1, Winter 1998.
Review of Intersecting Voices: Dilemmas of Gender, Political Philosophy, and Policy by Iris Young, American Political Science Review, vol. 92, no. 4, December 1998.
Review of The Female Body and the Law by Zillah R. Eisentein, American Political Science Review, vol. 84, no. 1, March 1990.
Review of The Sexual Contract by Carole Pateman, Political Theory, vol. 18, no. 1, February 1990, pp. 170-174.
Editorials and feature articles in The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The New Haven Register.