Margaret Canovan (1939–2018) was an English

political theorist A political theorist is someone who engages in constructing or evaluating political theory, including political philosophy. Theorists may be Academia, academics or independent scholars. Here the most notable political theorists are categorized b ...

. Born in Carlisle in 1939, Canovan studied

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

Girton College, Cambridge Girton College is one of the 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1948, it was granted full college statu ...

, where she subsequently completed a PhD on

Joseph Priestley Joseph Priestley (; 24 March 1733 – 6 February 1804) was an English chemist, natural philosopher, separatist theologian, grammarian, multi-subject educator, and liberal political theorist. He published over 150 works, and conducted exp ...

. She became a professor in the Politics Department at Lancaster University not long after its inception, later moving to

Keele University Keele University, officially known as the University of Keele, is a public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, Keele ...

where she remained until her retirement in 2002. Canovan published several books but is perhaps best known for her work on Hannah Arendt, particularly after accessing Arendt's unpublished papers in the late 1980s. Her book ''Hannah Arendt: A Reinterpretation of Her Political Thought'' (1992) was described by Gordon Tolle in ''The Review of Politics'' as "an excellent and comprehensive explanation of how Arendt's political theory emerges out of her early struggle to understand the new phenomenon of totalitarianism". Her later work on

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

was also received with international acclaim. Steven Engel noted that "Canovan's book distinguishes itself in that its aim is 'to argue that questions of nationhood are not an optional extra for political theory, but should actually be at the heart of the discipline' ".

Bernard Yack Bernard Yack (born 1952) is a Canadian born American political theorist. He received his B.A. from the University of Toronto and his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Harvard University, where he was a student of Judith Shklar. Yack has taught at numerous u ...

credits Canovan with arguing that "national loyalties help liberals establish a sense of intergenerational continuity" that is difficult to establish via mere civic membership, and that this intergenerational "bond" is essential in maintaining "continuity and stability" in a democratic polity. She published at least four essays on populism, and was regarded as a "true pioneer" in its study.

Selected works

Canovan's books include: * ''The Political Thought of Hannah Arendt'' (1974) * '' G. K. Chesterton'' (1978) * ''Populism'' (1981) * ''Hannah Arendt: A Reinterpretation of Her Political Thought'' (1992) * ''Nationhood and Political Theory'' (1996) * ''The People'' (2005)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canovan, Margaret Academics of Keele University Academics of Lancaster University Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge English political philosophers People from Carlisle, Cumbria Scholars of nationalism Populism scholars 1939 births 2018 deaths Women political scientists