The John D. Lewis Memorial Lectureship Fund
The John D. Lewis Memorial Lectureship Fund in political theory was established as a memorial to Professor Lewis through the generosity of several donors, most especially Mary Jane (Mrs. John D.) Lewis, without whose support the lectureship would not have been possible. The purpose of the fund is to support annual visits by distinguished political theorists to Oberlin College. This year's presentations by Professor Tronto constitute the inaugural lectures in this series.

The Department of Politics also awards annually, from a separate fund, the John D. Lewis Memorial Prize to the best graduating senior in political theory; in 1999 the award winner was Susan M. Dennehy.

Professor Joan C. Tronto
Joan C. Tronto is Professor of Political Science and Women's Studies at Hunter College and the Graduate School, City University of New York. Professor Tronto was a student of Professor Lewis at Oberlin College and graduated from the College in 1974, with Highest Honors in both History and Government. Subsequently she received her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Politics from Princeton University.

Professor Tronto's book, Moral Boundaries: A Political Argument for an Ethic of Care, was published in 1993. She also was co-editor, with Kathleen B. Jones and Cathy J. Cohen, of Women Transforming Politics: An Alternative Reader, published in 1997. She is the author of numerous articles in political-theory and feminist journals, on feminist theory and women in American politics. Her current research focuses on broadening the political implications and uses of the feminist ethic of care, and she has recently completed work on the relationship of caring to citizenship and to housing policy.

Professor Tronto won the Presidential Award for Teaching at Hunter College in 1991. She has been a visiting professor at the University for Humanist Studies and at the Graduate School of Ethics in the Netherlands, at the Goethe University in Frankfurt, and at Yale University. Politically as well as professionally active, she has been President of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Political Science Caucus of the American Political Science Association and has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Association.

Professor John D. Lewis
The John D. Lewis Memorial Lectureship was established in honor of longtime Oberlin faculty member and political theorist John D. Lewis (1905-1988). J. D. Lewis entered Oberlin College as an undergraduate in 1924. After graduating from the College in 1928, he earned his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In 1935 Professor Lewis returned to Oberlin as a member of the Department of Government faculty, where he remained until retirement in 1972, coming back to the College for one additional semester of teaching in 1975. Professor Lewis served as Chair of the Oberlin Government Department from 1948 to 1950 and from 1953 to 1970. For many years he was a leader among the faculty and served several terms as a member of the College Faculty Council.

Professor Lewis authored three major books: The Genossenschaft-theory of Otto von Gierke, Against the Tyrant (with Oscar Jaszi), and Anti-Federalists versus Federalists. He also wrote numerous articles, many of them on topics relating to democratic theory. He received Fulbright, Guggenheim, and Social Science Research Council fellowships and was a visiting professor at many distinguished universities.

Oberlin College and the Department of Politics
Founded in 1833, Oberlin College has a rich heritage of educating scholars, public servants, professionals, and business leaders. Approximately 2,800 students and 300 faculty work together in a liberal arts environment.

The Department of Politics (formerly Government) is deeply committed to the highest standards of teaching and scholarship. Currently consisting of ten full-time faculty members, and with over eighty junior and senior majors, the Department represents all main fields of political science. Over the years this Department has helped educate a large number of students who have gone on to become distinguished members of the political science profession, including both Professor Lewis and Professor Tronto.