Keys, Mary M. 1966-

PERSONAL:

Born January 6, 1966. Education: Boston College, B.A.; University of Toronto, Ph.D., 1998.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Department of Political Science, 217 O'Shaughnessy Hall, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 46556; fax: 574-631-4405. E-mail—Mary.M.Keys.3@nd.edu.

CAREER:

Political scientist, educator, and writer. University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, junior faculty fellow at the Erasmus Institute, 2000-01, then associate professor of political science. Also visiting scholar at Harvard University's Department of Government, 2006-07.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Recipient of grants and fellowships, including a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship, 2006, 2007, for research project titled "Humility and Modern Politics."

WRITINGS:

Aquinas, Aristotle, and the Promise of the Common Good, Cambridge University Press (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor to periodicals, including American Journal of Political Science and History of Political Thought.

SIDELIGHTS:

Mary M. Keys is a political scientist whose research and teaching interests cover a broad spectrum of political themes, including the history of political philosophy, ethics and political philosophy, religion and political philosophy, Christianity and political thought, and Catholic social teaching. In her book, Aquinas, Aristotle, and the Promise of the Common Good, the author focuses on why Aquinas should be read in addition to Aristotle when pondering the perennial questions associated with the relationship between personal and common goods. The author examines in depth Aquinas's account of the connection between personal flourishing and the common good and the relation of virtue and law to both of these concepts. In the process she also explores Aquinas's approach to reconciling religion, philosophy, and politics. The author argues that Aquinas's Christian faith opens new avenues of exploration into politics and ethics as she explains how religious faith can support sound philosophical inquiry. In the process of her analysis, Keys integrates politics, social and political theory, philosophy, ethics, legal theory, and theology. Discussing her book on the Erasmus Institute Web site, the author notes that "Aquinas's theory of the common good is a helpful and perhaps indispensable resource for political theorists today."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Journal of Politics, November, 2007, Cary J. Nederman, review of Aquinas, Aristotle, and the Promise of the Common Good, p. 1219.

ONLINE

Department of Political Science, University of Notre Dame Web site,http://politicalscience.nd.edu/ (January 31, 2008), faculty profile of author.

Erasmus Institute Web site,http://nd.edu/~erasmus/ (January 31, 2008), faculty profile of author.

PCChip Consulting,http://www.pcchip.com/ (January 31, 2008), profile of author.