News: Update on Oakeshott’s Selected Writings

Vol. 2 LSE Lectures on the History of Political Thought

Luke O’Sullivan (co-editor) writes: A first draft of the main text of the LSE lectures scheduled for publication in 2006 is now complete. It is based on the final versions of the lectures for 1968-9 in the LSE archive, which differ considerably from the earlier versions that have circulated among Oakeshott’s former colleagues and students. For example, it contains several previously unknown lectures, on The Medieval Theory of Empire, St Augustine, and St Aquinas. The volume promises to greatly add to understanding of Oakeshott’s overarching interpretation of Western political thought.

For a sneak preview, download Lecture 1: Introduction

Vols. 3 & 4 Announcement

Volumes 3 & 4 in the series of Oakeshott’s Selected Writings are already at an advanced stage of preparation. The published essays and reviews covering the entirety of Oakeshott’s career have now been assembled by Luke O’Sullivan and should appear in two volumes, covering 1926-51 and 1952-1988 respectively. They will consist of over 170 pieces, many of them masterpieces of the reviewer’s craft, and will considerably enhance the accessibility of Oakeshott’s thought. The two volumes not only form a unique commentary on the history of the humanities and the social sciences in the twentieth century, they also place Oakeshott in context more fully than ever before.