Greater Hartford
I am a Lecturer in the Program on Ethics, Politics, and Economics at Yale University. My first book, Commerce and Manners in Edmund Burke's Political Economy, was released by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in 2020. My second book, titled Early Black Political Thought on American Civil Society, is forthcoming from CUP and features Richard Allen, Absalom Jones, Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Fannie Barrier Williams, Alexander Crummell, and W.E.B. Du Bois. Here is one blurb for this book: "For far too long, the academic and popular discourse about civil society has excluded early Black thinkers whose ideas are no less intellectually compelling, and have often proven far more politically consequential, than those of other pioneering thinkers on the subject. In this magnificent book, Gregory Collins brilliantly shows that when it comes to understanding families, churches, and other civil society institutions, early Black thinkers including Richard Allen, Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, Fannie Barrier Williams, W.E.B Du Bois, and several others offer insights that not even the great Alexis de Tocqueville can match. Exquisitely written and persuasively argued, Early Black Political Thought on American Civil Society not only spotlights the exceptional pro-social power of Black churches but also highlights what early Black thinkers can teach us about how to de-polarize today's politics and live good lives in free, diverse, and democratic society." John J. DiIulio, Jr. Frederic Fox Leadership Professor, University of Pennsylvania Founding Director, White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Scholarly interests include the history of political thought; conceptions of liberalism and conservatism; the connection between markets and morals; constitutional theory and practice; and Black political thought. I received the Buckley Institute’s 2024 Lux et Veritas Faculty Prize, which “recognizes a Yale faculty member who actively fosters intellectual diversity for students in and out of the classroom"; the 2020 recipient of the Novak Award, awarded by the Acton Institute to one young scholar each year conducting research on the link between freedom and virtue; and the 2017 recipient of the Liggio Memorial Fellowship, awarded by the Philadelphia Society to one young scholar "who is actively contributing to the discipline of history or is otherwise advancing our understanding of classical liberal thought." Check out my work at https://campuspress.yale.edu/gregcollins/.
• Ph.D., Politics. • Dissertation: The Sphinx of Political Economy: Burke, Commerce, and the Question of Virtue. Advisor: David Walsh. Dissertation defense: April 26, 2017. • M.A. in Political Theory, Catholic University of America. May 2014 • Comprehensive Examination Fields: Political Theory (Major Field), American Politics. Honors/High Pass on all comprehensive examinations. Teaching Assistant POL 363: Politics of the Sixties POL 101: Introduction to American Politics POL 363: Politics of the Sixties POL 101: Introduction to American Politics POL 401: Mass Media and American Politics POL 316: The United States Congress