Dr Fernanda Gallo, Associate Professor in History and Politics and Fellow of Homerton College, recently represented the College at an international conference hosted by the University of Freiburg entitled “The Significance of the Cambridge School for Contemporary Political Theory.” The conference brought together scholars from across the world to reflect on the influence and future of the Cambridge School, a leading approach to the study of political ideas.
The Cambridge School is best known for stressing the importance of understanding political thinkers within the historical and political circumstances in which they wrote. Rather than treating ideas as abstract or timeless, it asks what political arguments were meant to achieve in practice. The Freiburg conference explored how this way of studying political thought continues to shape contemporary debates.
Dr Gallo presented a paper entitled “The Cambridge School and the Practice of Ideas: Hegel’s Machiavelli” which showcased her new and ongoing research. In her talk, she examined how the nineteenth-century philosopher G. W. F. Hegel engaged with the ideas of Niccolò Machiavelli as a thinker concerned with political action, conflict, and the realities of state-building. By reshaping the relationship between idealism and political realism, Dr Gallo demonstrated how political ideas operate as tools for interpreting and responding to real historical situations.
Dr Gallo’s talk intervened in broader debates about the future of the history of political thought and the continuing relevance of the Cambridge School. Her participation reflects Homerton College’s strong commitment to international research and to advancing scholarship in history and political theory.
