Biography
Jamie Mayerfeld is Professor and Chair of Law, Societies & Justice, and Professor of Political Science. He is also a faculty associate of the Center for Human Rights and an associate faculty member of the Program on Ethics.
Mayerfeld specializes in political theory and human rights. He is the author of the book The Promise of Human Rights: Constitutional Government, Democratic Legitimacy, and International Law (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2016). In this book, he develops an account of constitutional democracy as a cooperative project enlisting both domestic and international guardians to strengthen the protection of human rights. His other publications include Suffering and Moral Responsibility (Oxford University Press, 1999) and articles on various topics in political theory, moral philosophy, human rights, and international criminal law. His most recent article is "Religion, Scripture, Morality," Essays in the Philosophy of Humanism 32 (2024).
Mayerfeld has taught courses on the history of political thought; democratic theory; contemporary theories of justice; nationalism; human rights theory; freedom of speech and religion; political theory of the climate crisis; the philosophy of punishment; human rights law; US constitutional law; and US detention policy in Guantanamo Bay.
In 2019-20, Mayerfeld served as president of the Western Political Science Association (WPSA). Currently, he is co-coordinator of Political Scientists for Sustainability.