Dr John Tate

Biography

I was appointed as the foundation lecturer in Politics at the University of Newcastle in August 1997. Since that time Politics has steadily grown to the point that, by 2010, we have four full time staff members. I teach across six different Politics subjects in areas such as Australian politics, international relations, political philosophy, Australian public policy, and the politics of globalisation. From the beginning I made a strategic decision to place the full text of my lectures on the Blackboard website for student use. As each of these lectures are two hours long, and there are thirteen lectures per subject, this took much time and effort. But I believe it is worth it as students are now able to constructively engage with the lecture material in class, rather than scribbling down every word the lecturer says.

My primary research interest is in the areas of political philosophy and history of political thought, but I have also published widely in such areas as New Zealand native title and also Australian sovereignty. Regarding political philosophy I am particularly interested in the philosophy and practice of toleration, particularly as it is negotiated and applied within the liberal tradition. Regarding history of political thought, I am interested in the foundations and development of the liberal tradition. At present, my work in this last area concerns the political philosophy of John Locke.

My publications have appeared in a number of international journals including Political Studies, Philosophy and Social Criticism, Journal of European Studies and Telos.

Qualifications

• PhD, University of Sydney, 1999
• Bachelor of Economics, University of Sydney
• Bachelor of Economics (Honours), University of Sydney, 1991

Research

Research keywords

• Foundations of Liberalism
• History of Political Thought
• New Zealand Native Title
• Political Philosophy
• Toleration

Research expertise

My primary research expertise is in the area of political philosophy and history of political thought. In particular, I am interested in the foundations and the development of the liberal tradition. Currently I am working on the political philosophy of the seventeenth century English philosopher, John Locke, who is widely recognised as one of the founding fathers of the liberal tradition, at least within the English-speaking world.

One other area of political philosophy that I am currently working in concerns the history and philosophy of toleration, particularly as it has been negotiated and understood within the liberal tradition. I am particularly interested in the extent to which liberal democratic polities are able to provide scope for toleration, within their borders, of non-liberal values and practices.

My work on John Locke and toleration has been widely published, appearing in journals such as Political Studies, Philosophy and Social Criticism, and the Journal of European Studies. I have also published articles on the Enlightenment and postmodernism. These have appeared in the journal Telos.

Fields of Research

Administrative

Administrative expertise

Chair of the Faculty Library Committee for a number of years.

Head of Discipline in Politics since 2010

Teaching

Teaching keywords

• Australian Politics and Government
• Australian Public Policy
• History of Political Thought
• International Relations
• Introduction to Politics
• Political Theory
• Politics of Globalisation

Teaching expertise

I have had to cover a wide range of topics within Politics in my teaching career as from 1997 to 2005 there were only two Politics staff to teach the Politics major in the Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Social Science at the University of Newcastle. We therefore had to cover the entire major between us, as well as the fourth year Honours courses.

The areas in which I have consistently taught courses since 1997 at the University of Newcastle are political theory, history of political thought, politics of globalisation, Australian politics, Introduction to Politics, Australian public policy and international relations. I also taught a course entitled Politics and Power in Asia for a number of years.

Teaching interests

• Introductory Politics
• Political Theory
• Public Policy
• Politics of Rights
• International Relations
• Political Philosophy
• Globalisation