Introduction
Teresa Bejan is a political theorist, author and academic who works at the University of Oxford. She is best known for her book Mere Civility: Disagreement and the Limits of Toleration, which studies how people with very different beliefs can continue talking and living together.
She is currently Professor of Political Theory at Oxford’s Department of Politics and International Relations and a Fellow of Oriel College. Her academic work covers important subjects such as free speech, equality, toleration, disagreement and the history of political ideas.
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Teresa Bejan Quick Facts
| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Teresa M. Bejan |
| Profession | Political theorist, professor and author |
| Current Position | Professor of Political Theory |
| University | University of Oxford |
| College | Oriel College |
| Main Fields | Political theory, free speech, civility, toleration and equality |
| Education | University of Chicago, University of Cambridge and Yale University |
| PhD | Political Science, Yale University |
| Best-Known Book | Mere Civility: Disagreement and the Limits of Toleration |
| Other Major Book | First Among Equals: Visions of Equality Before Egalitarianism |
| Known For | Research on civility, disagreement, toleration and equality |
| TED Talk | Is Civility a Sham? |
Who Is Teresa Bejan?
Teresa Bejan is a scholar who studies political ideas and how those ideas affect society.
Her research asks simple but important questions. How should people behave when they strongly disagree? What does equality really mean? How much freedom should people have to express unpopular views? Can people live peacefully without agreeing with each other?
These questions have made her research useful not only for university students but also for anyone interested in politics, democracy and public debate.
According to her official University of Oxford academic profile, Bejan is Professor of Political Theory and a Fellow of Oriel College.
Teresa Bejan Education
Teresa Bejan studied at several internationally respected universities.
She completed her undergraduate education at the University of Chicago in 2006.
She then studied Political Thought and Intellectual History at the University of Cambridge, completing an MPhil in 2007.
Bejan later attended Yale University, where she earned a PhD in Political Science with distinction in 2013. Her doctoral research focused on toleration and its limits in early modern England and America.
This research later helped form the foundation of her first major book.
How Did Teresa Bejan Start Her Academic Career?
After completing her doctorate, Teresa Bejan began building an international academic career.
From 2013 to 2014, she was a Mellon Research Fellow in Columbia University’s Society of Fellows in the Humanities. She also worked as a lecturer in political science there.
She moved to Canada in 2014 and became an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto.
In 2015, Bejan joined the University of Oxford.
Her move to Oxford became one of the most important stages of her professional career. She continued researching political thought while teaching subjects connected with politics, philosophy and the history of political ideas.
Teresa Bejan at the University of Oxford
Teresa Bejan has worked at Oxford since 2015.
She initially served as Associate Professor of Political Theory and became Professor of Political Theory in 2021.
She is also a Fellow of Oriel College, one of the colleges that form the University of Oxford.
Her Oxford teaching has covered topics including:
- Theory of Politics
- Political thought from Plato to Rousseau
- Modern political theory
- Plato and Aristotle
- Equality
- Methods in political theory
Her research connects old political ideas with questions that remain important today.
What Is Teresa Bejan Famous For?
Teresa Bejan is especially famous for her research on civility and disagreement.
Civility is often understood simply as being polite. Bejan’s research looks much deeper.
She examines whether people in a free society must respect or admire each other’s views or whether they only need a basic level of behavior that allows disagreement to continue without violence.
Her work suggests that a healthy society does not require everyone to agree.
People can strongly disagree and still continue the discussion.
That idea is central to her concept of “mere civility.”
Mere Civility by Teresa Bejan
Teresa Bejan published Mere Civility: Disagreement and the Limits of Toleration with Harvard University Press in 2017.
The book studies debates about religious toleration and political disagreement, especially during the seventeenth century.
Important historical thinkers examined in the book include:
- Roger Williams
- Thomas Hobbes
- John Locke
Bejan uses their ideas to explore a modern problem: how people who deeply disagree can continue sharing the same political community.
Her idea of “mere civility” does not demand friendship or complete respect between opponents.
Instead, it creates a minimum standard that allows disagreement to continue through communication rather than force.
The book helped establish Bejan as an important scholar in contemporary political theory. Oxford has described it as a major part of the work that established her expertise in the field.
Teresa Bejan and Free Speech
Free speech is another major part of Teresa Bejan’s research.
Her work examines the relationship between free expression, tolerance and political disagreement.
She has studied questions such as whether offensive speech should be restricted, how societies deal with hateful expression and whether demands for polite speech can sometimes make it difficult for unpopular groups to speak openly.
Her research does not treat disagreement as something that can always be removed.
Instead, it examines ways people can continue living together even when their beliefs remain very different.
Teresa Bejan and Equality
Equality has become another major focus of Bejan’s academic work.
Her second major book is First Among Equals: Visions of Equality Before Egalitarianism.
Oxford lists the book as a 2026 work.
The book explores how the belief that human beings are equal became a powerful political argument in early modern England.
It examines political thinkers and movements associated with debates about equality, including John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, Mary Astell and radical political groups of the period.
The subject is important because equality remains one of the central ideas behind modern political systems.
Teresa Bejan Books
Mere Civility: Disagreement and the Limits of Toleration
Published in 2017 by Harvard University Press, this is Bejan’s best-known book.
It explores civility, disagreement and religious toleration through political history.
First Among Equals: Visions of Equality Before Egalitarianism
This book focuses on the development of equality as a political idea.
Oxford lists the work as a 2026 publication.
The Political Thought of John Locke: New Perspectives
Bejan also co-edited The Political Thought of John Locke: New Perspectives with David Armitage and Felix Waldmann.
The collection was published by Oxford University Press in 2026 and examines different parts of John Locke’s political thought.
Teresa Bejan Awards and Achievements
Teresa Bejan has received several academic awards and fellowships during her career.
One of her important early achievements came in 2015 when the American Political Science Association awarded her the Leo Strauss Award for outstanding doctoral research in political philosophy.
She has also received recognition including:
- Balzan-Skinner Fellowship in Modern Intellectual History
- Leverhulme Research Fellowship
- Britain and Ireland Association for Political Thought Early Career Prize
- Fulbright Visiting Research Chair
- Philip Leverhulme Prize in Politics
In 2021, she received the Philip Leverhulme Prize in Politics, which recognizes researchers whose work has already gained international attention and who show strong future potential.
Teresa Bejan TED Talk
Teresa Bejan became known to a much wider audience through her TED Talk titled “Is Civility a Sham?”
The talk was released in 2018.
In it, she discusses an important problem: calls for civility may help people communicate peacefully, but demands for polite behavior can sometimes also be used to silence angry or unpopular voices.
Her Oxford profile reports that the TED Talk has received more than 1.7 million views.
This helped introduce her political ideas to people outside universities.
Teresa Bejan in the Media
Bejan regularly contributes to discussions outside academic journals.
Her work has appeared in or been discussed through major media platforms, including The Atlantic and BBC Radio 4.
She has also appeared on BBC Radio 4’s In Our Time, discussing subjects connected with political history, civility and political thought.
In July 2026, Oxford listed her recent media work on equality, education, merit and justice.
What Does Teresa Bejan Research?
Her main research areas include:
- Political theory
- History of political thought
- Free speech
- Civility
- Toleration
- Equality
- Political disagreement
- John Locke
- Thomas Hobbes
- Roger Williams
She often studies historical thinkers to better understand political problems that still exist today.
Why Is Teresa Bejan Important?
Teresa Bejan’s work is important because disagreement is a normal part of modern society.
People have different political views, religions, cultures and ideas.
Trying to make everyone agree is unrealistic.
Bejan’s research asks a more practical question: How can people continue living and speaking together even when they strongly disagree?
Her answer focuses on maintaining enough civility for discussion to continue without requiring complete agreement.
Her research is also useful for understanding modern debates about free speech, polarization and equality.
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Teresa Bejan FAQs
Who is Teresa Bejan?
Teresa Bejan is a political theorist, professor and author. She is Professor of Political Theory at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Oriel College.
What is Teresa Bejan known for?
She is best known for her research on civility, free speech, toleration, equality and political disagreement.
Where does Teresa Bejan work?
Teresa Bejan works at the University of Oxford’s Department of Politics and International Relations.
What is Teresa Bejan’s famous book?
Her best-known book is Mere Civility: Disagreement and the Limits of Toleration, published by Harvard University Press in 2017.
What does “mere civility” mean?
Mere civility is Bejan’s idea of maintaining a basic standard of communication that allows people to continue disagreeing without requiring them to completely respect, admire or agree with one another.
Where did Teresa Bejan study?
She studied at the University of Chicago, University of Cambridge and Yale University.
Does Teresa Bejan have a PhD?
Yes. She earned a PhD in Political Science with distinction from Yale University in 2013.
What is Teresa Bejan’s second book?
Her second major book is First Among Equals: Visions of Equality Before Egalitarianism, which examines the historical development of equality as a political idea.
Conclusion
Teresa Bejan has built an academic career around some of the biggest questions in political life: equality, freedom of speech, toleration and disagreement.
From her education at Chicago, Cambridge and Yale to her career at Columbia, Toronto and Oxford, Bejan has developed into an internationally recognized political theorist.
Her book Mere Civility helped make her especially well known for explaining how people can continue talking even when they strongly disagree.
Her newer research on equality continues the same wider goal: using political history to understand problems that still matter today.
For readers searching Who is Teresa Bejan?, the simplest answer is that she is an Oxford professor, political theorist and author best known for her work on civility, toleration, free speech and equality.
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