Sheldon Wolin

Sheldon Wolin
Born(1922-08-04)August 4, 1922
DiedOctober 21, 2015(2015-10-21) (aged 93)
SpouseEmily Purvis
Education
Alma materOberlin College, Harvard University
Philosophical work
EraContemporary philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolContinental philosophy
Main interestsDemocracy, political philosophy
Notable ideasInverted totalitarianism

Sheldon Sanford Wolin (/ˈwlɪn/; August 4, 1922 – October 21, 2015) was an American political theorist and writer on contemporary politics. A political theorist for fifty years, Wolin became Professor of Politics, Emeritus, at Princeton University, where he taught from 1973 to 1987.

During a teaching career which spanned more than forty years, Wolin also taught at the University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Santa Cruz, Oberlin College, Oxford University, Cornell University, and University of California, Los Angeles. He was a notable teacher of undergraduate and particularly graduate students, serving as a mentor to many students who themselves became prominent scholars and teachers of political theory.