Patrick J. Deneen is the author of "The Odyssey of Political Theory" (2000) and "Democratic Faith" (2005).

The former is a study of the recurrent appearance of Odysseus in constitutive works in the history of political thought, and its impliications on themes of belonging and cosmopolitanism. It was recipient of the A.P.S.A.'s Foundations of Political Thought Best First Book Award Honorable Mention in 2005.

The latter is a study of the ways in which democracy shares characteristics of religion, and the manner in which people invest a faith in democracy as, or perhaps more, fervent than traditional religious belief.

Deneen is currently working on two projects. The first is a study of the non-liberal "alternative tradition" in American political thought. The second project centers on the classic theme of the "division of labor" as a recurring theme in the history of political thought. He will trace both its central importance, and the modifications that it has undergone, in the thought of such thinkers as Plato, Aristotle, Paul, Augustine, Luther, Smith, Hegel, Marx, Weber and Arendt.