Austin College’s Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Program will feature a 2022 lecture on Tuesday, April 12, at 11 a.m. in Hoxie Thompson Auditorium of Sherman Hall by Dr. Edward Harpham, a noted professor at The University of Texas at Dallas. His lecture will address “Political Economy, The Moral Sentiments, and The Question of Slavery in Adam Smith.”
At The University of Texas at Dallas, Harpham is director of the University Honors Program, associate provost, and a professor of political science. He has been a member of the faculty at the university since 1981 when he joined the Government and Political Economy Department. Since that time, he has risen in responsibility and renown at the university and was awarded the 1996-1997 Chancellor’s Council Outstanding Teaching Award. In 1994, he was honored by The University of Texas at Dallas to be an Andrew R. Cecil Lecturer and the Polycarp Kusch Lecturer in 2006. From 1998 to 2009, he served as associate dean of Undergraduate Education. He is the inaugural director of the Collegium V Honors Program, beginning in 1998, as well as the inaugural dean of the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College (2014).
Harpham teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in political theory, American government, and Texas politics. He also offers a recurring honors reading tutorial on medicine, politics, and philosophy for pre-medical students. The author or editor of 10 books, Harpham also has published more than 25 professional articles or chapters in books.
The unifying theme of Harpham’s work has been the exploration of the relationship between economics and politics. Much of his earlier work investigated the roles that modern economic ideas have played in shaping Western society’s understanding of politics and public policy. Another area of interest has been the relationship between technological transformations and political change in American political history.
More recently, the professor’s focus of study has been investigating the theories of the passions found in modern liberal thought. He is particularly interested in understanding how the theories of the passions developed in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries influenced modern notions of the individual, sociability, and individual decision making in the work of such individuals as Rene Descartes, John Locke, David Hume, Francis Hutcheson, and Adam Smith. Harpham has a special interest in Texas politics and government, and is the author of three leading texts in the field.
A past president of the Southwestern Political Science Association. Harpham sits on the Board of Directors for The Bill Archer Center. He is the treasurer of the UTD Chapter of Phi Kappa Phi.
He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the Pennsylvania State University. He was awarded a master’s degree and a doctorate in government from Cornell University.
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics PPE at Austin College
Austin College’s Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) program offers students the opportunity to journey beyond the borders of any single discipline by offering an integrated study of philosophy, political science, and economics. Initiated at Oxford University in 1924 and now adopted by colleges and universities across the globe, the PPE’s mission is to cultivate a breadth of study not found in any one disciplinary field and so, add to students’ historical, theoretical, and methodological perspectives as they address historical topics and contemporary affairs. Following the PPE program, the student will be well prepared to enter the public and private sector, taking positions in government, business, and the nonprofit arena. The student will be prepared for graduate study in philosophy, economics, political science, business, and policy/public affairs.