Richard Bourke (academic)

Richard Bourke is an intellectual historian and political theorist, specializing in the European Enlightenment and its legacy. He is known for his work on Edmund Burke, liberty, toleration, and the history of political thought.

Bourke has held professorships at a number of prestigious institutions, including the University of Cambridge and Queen Mary University of London. He is currently a Professor of the History of Political Thought at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of King's College, Cambridge.

His scholarship often explores the complexities and contradictions within Enlightenment thought, challenging simplistic narratives of progress and rationalism. He emphasizes the importance of historical context in understanding intellectual developments and political ideologies.

Key Publications:

• Edmund Burke: From Enlightenment to Revolution (1995) - A major intellectual biography of Edmund Burke.
• History and Social Theory (2005)
• Civil Concord, Religious Dissonance: The Origins of Toleration in Early Modern Europe (2023)

Bourke has also edited and co-edited numerous volumes on topics ranging from political languages to the concept of toleration. His work has been influential in shaping contemporary debates on the intellectual history of the Enlightenment and the history of political thought more broadly.