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| Assistant Professor |
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| Office Phone: |
(979) 845-3747 |
| Office Location: |
ALLN 2047 |
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| Email: |
davacano@polisci.tamu.edu |
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Dr. von Vacano’s teaching and research interests are in political philosophy and the history of political thought. He is especially interested in modern European and Latin American political theory. His current research for a monograph focuses on the problem of racial identity in relation to citizenship in the Hispanic tradition, focusing on the themes of Empire, Nation, and Cosmopolis in various thinkers. The ancillary aim of "The Color of Citizenship: Racial Identity in Hispanic American Political Thought" is to develop a normative conceptualization of race for modern multicultural societies.
Professor von Vacano is also beginning research on a book project examining the development of immigrant identity, using German political philosophy.
His other areas of interest include the intersection of politics and aesthetics, the politics of democratization in Latin America, especially Bolivia, as well as the ethics of immigration policy in developed democracies.
Prior to joining the faculty at Texas A&M University, Dr. von Vacano served on the faculties of Hunter College CUNY, Vassar College, and Williams College. He was also a Visiting Scholar in Latin American Studies at Columbia University. Professor von Vacano has been the recipient of an NEH faculty grant in Latin American philosophy; the University Center for Human Values Graduate Fellowship at Princeton University (where he received his doctorate); and grants from the Spencer Foundation, Tinker Foundation, and Mellon Foundation as well as from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he received a Master’s in Public Policy.
Dr. von Vacano is the author of The Art of Power: Machiavelli, Nietzsche and the Making of Aesthetic Political Theory (Lexington Books/Rowman & Littlefield, November 2006). The Art of Power examines the work of Machiavelli, arguing that he establishes a new, aesthetic perspective on political life. It then proceeds to carry out the most extensive analysis to date of an important relationship in political theory: that between the thought of Machiavelli and Friedrich Nietzsche. Arguing that these two theorists have similar aims and perspectives, this work uncovers the implications of their common way of looking at the human condition and political practice to elucidate the phenomenon of the persistence of aesthetic, sensory cognition as fundamental to the human experience, particularly to the political life. His other publications include "Race and Political Theory", in Race or Ethnicity? On Black and Latino Identity (ed. Jorge Gracia, Cornell University Press, April 2007).
Dr. von Vacano is a Member of the School of Social Science of the Institute for Advanced Study, in Princeton, NJ, for the academic year 2008-2009.
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| Fall 2006 |
| POLS 306-503 |
Contemporary Political Problems and Issues |
3:35 to 4:25 MWF |
ALLN 1015 |
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| Fall 2007 |
| POLS 362-501 |
Latin American Political Thought |
10:55 to 11:45 MWF |
ALLN 1015 |
| POLS 454-900 |
Contemporary Political Ideas |
2:25 to 3:15 MWF |
ALLN 1015 |
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| Spring 2008 |
| POLS 362-502 |
Latin American Political Thought |
6:15 to 7:30 TR |
ALLN 1015 |
| POLS 689-602 |
Special Topics in... |
7:00 to 9:50 W |
ALLN 2064 |
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» View Vita
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Conference: "Immigration and National Identity: Lessons from/for Political Theory".
Selected Publications:
The Art of Power Chapter 3 "Nietzsche's Machiavellism"
Race and Political Theory: Lessons from Latin America
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