Each spring, the Theodore J. and Angèle Lowi Lecture welcomes a member of the University of Chicago faculty to reflect on American, European, or comparative politics at the John W. Boyer Center in Paris. Bringing together UChicago faculty, students and alumni in the region; partner institutions; and the general public, the event serves as a forum for learning and discussion around the most pressing issues of the day.
Elliot Feldman, AB’69, endowed the annual lecture series in 2018 in honor of Theodore J. “Ted” Lowi (d. 2017), a renowned American political science scholar at Cornell who encouraged Feldman to spend a quarter studying in Paris in 1968 and was an extremely influential person in his life.
Past Lowi Lecture speakers
- 2026: Thomas Ginsburg (Law School), American Democracy and the Constitution of Dictatorship
- 2025: Eric Slauter (English), The Promises of the Declaration of Independence
- 2024: James Sparrow (History), The “Deep State” and the Crisis of Democracy in America
- 2023: Scott Gehlbach (Political Science), The Power of the Powerful: How Autocratic Leaders (Sometimes) Survive Poor Economic Performance and Disastrous Wars
- 2022: Susan Stokes (Political Science), Democracy on the Defensive: Why is Democracy Eroding and What Can Be Done to Strengthen It?
- 2021: Cancelled due to COVID-19
- 2020: William Howell (Harris School), Trump’s Legacies