Kenneth Leonardo
Postdoctoral Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor of Government
Kenneth Andrew Andres Leonardo received his Ph.D. in political science from Claremont Graduate University, The Claremont Colleges, and his B.A. in political science, international relations, from Bucknell University. His research and teaching interests include history of political thought, American political development, virtue, regime change, and democracy. Currently, Leonardo is investigating various ways of pursuing virtue and dealing with injustice. Additional research projects concern the preservation and future of democracy. His previous work has appeared in Polis and The Conversation. Prior affiliations include the Huntington Library, the Newberry Library, and the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Most recently, he was a visiting “Scholar from Overseas” at Kansai University in Osaka, Japan.
Recent Courses Taught
American Political Development
Contemporary Political Theory
The Way of the Warrior
Research Interests
Virtue, regime change, democracy
Distinctions
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Hamilton College, 2024-26
- Curriculum Development Award, Hamilton College, 2025
- Faculty Teacher-Scholar Award, Hamilton College, 2024
- Dean of Faculty Award, Hamilton College, 2023
- Creative Arts & Technology Award, Hamilton College, 2023
Select Publications
- Leonardo, Kenneth Andrew Andres. 2026. “Seeking Honor Is a Double-Edged Sword – from Ancient Greece to Samurai Japan, Thinkers Have Wrestled with Whether It’s the Way to Virtue.” The Conversation, January 8. https://doi.org/10.64628/AAI.
rsf6cshqx. - Leonardo, Kenneth Andrew Andres. 2024. “What Is the ‘Way of the Warrior’? Students Investigate the Arts of War and Peace in This Course about Virtue and the Ethics of Violence.” The Conversation, December 6. https://doi.org/10.64628/AAI.
35yua5muw. - Leonardo, Kenneth Andrew Andres. 2024. “The Dangers of Demagogues and Democratic Revolution: On Aristotle’s Education of the Serious.” Polis: The Journal for Ancient Greek and Roman Political Thought 41 (2): 327–50. https://doi.org/10.1163/
20512996-12340438.
Professional Affiliations
American Political Science Association
New England Political Science Association
Western Political Science Association
Appointed to the Faculty
2022Educational Background
Ph.D., Claremont Graduate University, The Claremont Colleges
M.A., Claremont Graduate University, The Claremont Colleges
B.A., Bucknell University
