- Associate Professor
Biography
Biography
Professor Leeb is a feminist political theorist who works at the intersection of early Frankfurt School Critical Theory, feminist theory, and psychoanalytic thought to theorize power and socio-political transformation in four coinciding research areas: political subjectivity, the rise of the far-right, political guilt and democracy, and academia. She is the author of five books, with one more in progress: Contesting the Far Right (2024, Columbia University Press); The Politics of Repressed Guilt (2018, Edinburgh University Press); Power and Feminist Agency in Capitalism (2017, Oxford University Press) for which she has received the ASCINA (Austrian Scientists in North America) award for research excellence; Working-Class Women in Elite Academia (2004, Peter Lang Publisher); Die Zerstörung des Mythos von der Friedfertigen Frau [The Destruction of the Peaceful Woman Myth] (1998, Peter Lang Verlag). She just completed the book Power: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, under contract). Her published books have been widely reviewed. Professor Leeb is also the co-author on “Psychoanalytic Feminism” for the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. She has also published numerous journal articles and her work has appeared in numerous edited volumes. Finally, Professor Leeb lectures about her work internationally. At Washington State University, she trains doctoral students in political theory and teaches undergraduate students about political theory and philosophy.
Education
- Ph.D. in Political Theory and Philosophy, The New School for Social Research, New York
- Ph.D. in Psychology and Philosophy of Science, University of Vienna, Austria
- M.A. in Gender Studies and Feminist Theory, The New School for Social Research
- B.S./M.S. in Psychology, The University of Vienna
Research Interests
Early Frankfurt School Critical Theory, Feminist Political Theory, Psychoanalysis, Power and Socio-political Transformation, Political subjectivity, Guilt and democracy, The Rise of the Far Right
Publications
- Claudia Leeb, Contesting the Far-Right: A Psychoanalytic and Feminist Critical Theory Approach (Columbia University Press, New Directions in Critical Theory series, April 2024).
- Claudia Leeb, The Politics of Repressed Guilt: The Tragedy of Austrian Silence (2018) Edinburgh University Press.
- Claudia Leeb, Power and Feminist Agency in Capitalism: Toward a New Theory of the Political Subject (2017) Oxford University Press).
- Claudia Leeb, “Trabajadora Rebeldes De Las Maquilaoras: Una Perspectiva Feminista de la Teoría Crítica (Rebelling Female Maquiladora Workers: A Feminist Critical Theory Perspective),” in Santiago M. Zarria and Estefanía C. Apolo (eds.) Escuela de Frankfurt: Crisis, desafíos y vitalidad de la Teoría Crítica (Frankfurt School: Crisis, challenges and vitality of Critical Theory) (Ecuador: Colección Filosófica Actual, in Spanish) (March 2025), 221-248.
- Claudia Leeb, “Fending Off Ambiguity at All Costs: Why Women Are Attracted to the Far Right,” Constelationes (vol. 16, Dec. 31, 2024), 194-219.