Bernard E. Harcourt (born 1963) is an American

critical theorist A critical theory is any approach to social philosophy that focuses on society and culture to reveal, critique and challenge power structures. With roots in sociology and literary criticism, it argues that social problems stem more from socia ...

with a specialization in the area of punishment, surveillance, legal and political theory, and political economy. He also does pro-bono legal work on human rights issues. He is a professor at

Columbia University Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestig ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and at the

École des hautes études en sciences sociales The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (french: École des hautes études en sciences sociales; EHESS) is a graduate ''grande école'' and '' grand établissement'' in Paris focused on academic research in the social sciences. The ...

(EHESS) in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Education

Harcourt was raised in New York City and attended the

Lycée Français de New York The Lycée Français de New York (LFNY), commonly called the Lycée (in English, "The French High School of New York"), is an independent bilingual French school serving an international community of students from Nursery-3 to twelfth grade based ...

. He earned a B.A. degree in political theory from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

in 1984, a J.D. degree from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1989, and a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard in 2000.

Career

As a lawyer, Harcourt has represented inmates on death row and those serving life imprisonment without parole. His most notable clients include

Walter McMillian Walter may refer to: People * Walter (name), both a surname and a given name * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 19 ...

, and Doyle Lee Hamm, whose 2018 execution was called off because an IV line could not be set. Harcourt is also an academic. He was appointed the Julius Kreeger Professor of Law and Criminology at the

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dist ...

in 2003 and elected chairman of the Department of Political Science in 2010. In 2013, he became a chaired professor at the

in Paris. Since 2014, he has been the Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law and Director of the Columbia Center for Contemporary Critical Thought at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Works

Harcourt's writings focus on punishment, social control, legal and political theory, and political economy from a critical, empirical, and social theoretic perspective. In 2012, he published, ''The Illusion of Free Markets: Punishment and the Myth of Natural Order'' which explored the relationship between laissez faire and mass incarceration. In ''Illusion of Order: The False Promise of Broken Windows Policing'' he challenged evidence for the

broken windows theory In criminology, the broken windows theory states that visible signs of crime, anti-social behavior and civil disorder create an urban environment that encourages further crime and disorder, including serious crimes. The theory suggests that pol ...

and critiqued the assumptions of the policing strategy. In ''Language of the Gun'', he develops a post-structuralist theory of social science, arguing that social scientists should embrace the ethical choices they make when they interpret data. He has also edited works by

Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault (, ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and how ...

in French and English. He is the editor of the French edition of Foucault's 1972

Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment (''grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris ne ...

lectures on ''Théories et institutions pénales'' (published by Gallimard in 2015) and Foucault's 1973 Collège de France lectures on ''La société punitive'' (published by Gallimard in 2013). He is the co-editor, with Fabienne Brion, of Foucault's 1981 Louvain lectures ''Mal faire, dire vrai. Fonction de l'aveu en justice''. In 2016, he published ''Exposed: Desire and Disobedience in the Digital Age'', which explores how digital practices have transformed the circulation of power in contemporary society and produced what he refers to as a new "expository society". ''Exposed'' was translated into French as ''La Société d'exposition'' and reviewed in ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'' and ''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...

''. In 2018, he published ''The Counterrevolution: How Our Government Went to War Against Its Own Citizens''. In 2020, he published ''Critique and Praxis'', in which he analyzes the history of critical theory, and argues that theory and critical praxis "should inform one another uninterruptedly."

Awards and honors

In 2015, Harcourt was awarded an honorary doctorate from the

Aix-Marseille University Aix-Marseille University (AMU; french: Aix-Marseille Université; formally incorporated as ''Université d'Aix-Marseille'') is a public research university located in the Provence region of southern France. It was founded in 1409 when Louis II o ...

in France for his contributions to contemporary critical thought. He is also the recipient of the 2009 Gordon J. Laing Prize for his 2007 book, ''Against Prediction: Profiling, Policing and Punishing in the Actuarial Age.'' In 2019, Harcourt received from the

New York City Bar Association The New York City Bar Association (City Bar), founded in 1870, is a voluntary association of lawyers and law students. Since 1896, the organization, formally known as the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, has been headquartered in a ...

the Norman J. Redlich Capital Defense Distinguished Service Award for his longtime advocacy on behalf of individuals on death row.

Notes

References Select publications

External links

Personal website

Papers listed at Social Science Research Network
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harcourt, Bernard Columbia University faculty University of Chicago Law School faculty Living people Princeton University alumni Lycée Français de New York alumni 1963 births Harvard Law School alumni