Catherine Zuckert

{{Infobox philosopher

|region = Western philosophy

|era = 21st-century philosophy

|color =

|image =

|name = Catherine Zuckert

|birth_date = 1942

|birth_place =Florida, USA

|death_date =

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|school_tradition =

| institutions = Carleton College
Claremont McKenna College
University of Notre Dame

|main_interests =

| thesis_title =The morality of history: a study of Friedrich Nietzsche's untimely meditations

| thesis_url = https://www.proquest.com/docview/302465558?pq-origsite=gscholar&fromopenview=true

| thesis_year =1970

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| spouse = {{married|Michael Zuckert|1965}}

| education = BA, 1964, Cornell University
MA, PhD, political science, 1970, University of Chicago

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|website = {{URL|https://sites.nd.edu/catherine-zuckert/}}

}}

Catherine Herdis Heldt Zuckert{{cite news |title=Marriage of Zuckert / Schroeder |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald-marriage-of-zuckert-s/169433235/ |access-date=April 2, 2025 |publisher=The Miami Herald |date=September 12, 1965|via=newspapers.com}} (born 1942) is an American political philosopher and Reeves Dreux Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame.

Early life and education

Zuckert was born in 1942{{cite web |title=Zuckert, Catherine H., 1942- |url=https://viaf.org/en/viaf/261593333 |publisher=VIAF |access-date=April 2, 2025}} to parents Agneta Dahm Christensen and Henning Heldt.{{cite web |title=2018.029.001 - Gown, Wedding |url=https://danishmuseum.pastperfectonline.com/Webobject/FC8849C3-CB1E-481C-B2F3-522702647397 |publisher=Museum of Danish America |access-date=April 2, 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250402200754/https://danishmuseum.pastperfectonline.com/Webobject/FC8849C3-CB1E-481C-B2F3-522702647397 |archive-date=April 2, 2025 |date=2018}} Her father worked for the Miami Herald before he died in 1950, while her mother worked as a high school registrar.{{cite news |last1=Thompson |first1=Larry |title=Reason to Be Proud |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald-reason-to-be-proud/169431325/ |access-date=April 2, 2025 |publisher=The Miami Herald |date=May 15, 1960|via=newspapers.com}} While attending Miami Senior High School, Zuckert was named Florida's Betty Crocker Homemaker of Tomorrow after receiving the highest grade in a written examination on homemaking knowledge and attitudes in Florida.{{cite news |title=Miami's Cathy Heldt Wins State Contest |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald-miamis-cathy-heldt-win/169431459/ |access-date=April 2, 2025 |publisher=The Miami Herald |date=March 24, 1960|via=newspapers.com}} As a result of the award, she received a $1,500 scholarship and met then-Vice President Richard Nixon at a reception held in her honor.{{cite news |title=Meets the Nixon |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tampa-times-meets-the-nixon/169433552/ |access-date=April 2, 2025 |publisher=The Tampa Times |date=May 18, 1960|via=newspapers.com}} At her high school graduation, she was recognized as an "outstanding high school senior."

Zuckert completed her Bachelor of Arts degree at Cornell University, where her future husband Michael Zuckert also attended. While enrolled at Cornell in 1964, Zuckert received a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship.{{cite news |title=Wilson Winners Named |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald-wilson-winners-named/169433679/ |access-date=April 2, 2025 |publisher=The Miami Herald |date=December 27, 1964|via=newspapers.com}}{{cite news |title=4 at UM Honored |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald-4-at-um-honored/169433628/ |access-date=April 2, 2025 |publisher=The Miami Herald |date=March 12, 1964|via=newspapers.com}} Upon graduating, Zuckert and her husband enrolled at the University of Chicago for their PhDs in political science. They both studied under political philosopher Leo Strauss while at the University of Chicago.{{cite news |last1=Englander |first1=Julie |title=Defending Strauss |url=https://chicagoreader.com/news/defending-strauss/ |access-date=April 3, 2025 |publisher=Chicago Reader |date=August 23, 2007}}

Career

In 1976, the Zuckerts joined the political science department at Claremont McKenna College as visiting associate professors.{{cite news |title=On campus |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/progress-bulletin-on-campus/169430202/ |access-date=April 2, 2025 |publisher=Progress-Bulletin |date=September 19, 1976|via=newspapers.com}}

The Zuckerts chose to accept professor positions at the University of Notre Dame in 1998, as the school was one of the few interested in hiring senior women faculty.{{cite news |last1=Richter |first1=Thomas |title=Sitting Down with Michael Zuckert |url=https://irishrover.net/2021/11/sitting-down-with-michael-zuckert/ |access-date=April 3, 2025 |publisher=The Irish Rover |date=November 18, 2021}} After retiring from Notre Dame, they chose to became visiting scholars at Arizona State University's School for Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership.

Personal life

Zuckert is of Danish descent. She married her husband, Michael, on September 11, 1965.

Books

Postmodern Platos (University of Chicago Press, 1996)
Natural Right and the American Imagination: Political Philosophy in Novel Form
Plato's Philosophers: The Coherence of the Dialogues (University of Chicago Press, 2009)
Machiavelli's Politics (University of Chicago Press, 2017)
The Truth about Leo Strauss (2006) with Michael P. Zuckert, University of Chicago Press
Leo Strauss and the Problem of Political Philosophy (2014) with Michael P. Zuckert, University of Chicago Press

=Edited=

Understanding the Political Spirit: From Socrates to Nietzsche
Political Philosophy in the 20th Century: Authors and Arguments (Cambridge University Press, 2011)
Leo Strauss on Political Philosophy (University of Chicago Press, 2018)