Jed W. Atkins
E. Blake Byrne Associate Professor

Cicero; Greek, Roman, and early Christian political and moral philosophy; history of political thought; the modern reception of ancient political thought.

My research focuses on Greek, Roman, and early Christian moral and political thought.  I have a special interest in Roman political philosophy and have published two books in that area.  My book Cicero on Politics and the Limits of Reason explores Cicero's political philosophy in his dialogues The Republic and The Laws .  My second book, Roman Political Thought, provides a thematic guide to Roman political thought and its enduring legacies for modern liberal democracies.  I have also published on topics in Greek ethics and political thought, such as the concepts of politeia , moral conscience, and Stoic cosmopolitanism and natural law theory.  In the area of reception, I've written on the reception of Cicero's teaching on natural right in the 18th century and on the reception of Lucretius by Leo Strauss.  I continue to work on Cicero's philosophy, and I am co-editing (with Thomas Bénatouïl) the forthcoming Cambridge Companion to Cicero's Philosophy .  Additionally, I am working on the concept of toleration in early Christian political thought.

I regularly teach undergraduate courses on Greek and Roman political thought.  I teach all levels of Latin and graduate seminars related to my research interests. I also teach in Duke's Visions of Freedom Focus Cluster .  Past and present PhD students have written on the political theology of Plato's Laws , Cicero's Platonic dialogues, Cicero's role in the development of the later republican tradition, and Tacitus' political thought.

Office Hours

T 4:00 - 5:00 PM and W1:30-2:30.
Meet by Zoom (link available on course websites and by request).

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Contact Information

  • 232 Allen Building, Durham, NC 27708
  • Box 90103, Durham, NC 27708-0103

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