Professor Zakaras specializes in political philosophy and the history of political thought. His interests include the philosophy of democracy and democratic citizenship, individualism in American political thought, and the political ideas of the nineteenth century. His book, Individuality and Mass Democracy: Mill, Emerson, and the Burdens of Citizenship, was published by Oxford University Press in 2009. He is also co-editor of J.S. Mill's Political Thought: A Bicentennial Reassessment, published by Cambridge University Press in 2007.

Hear Alex Zakaras on Public Radio:

- Discussing Emerson's "Self-Reliance" on NPR's On Point
- Discussing Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" on Wisconsin Public Radio