Foundations of Political Theory

Dr. Sergio Imparato is a Lecturer in Government and the Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Government at Harvard University. He also teaches at Harvard Extension School, Harvard Summer School, and Harvard's Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology. Imparato's research and teaching focus on applied ethics, political thought, and grand strategy in international relations. His primary field of research explores the intersection of ethics, technology, and policy, with a particular emphasis on the ethical implications of emerging technologies in health care, artificial intelligence, and civics. Imparato is interested in how these advancements shape our understanding of human relationships, societal norms and the future of governance. His secondary field of research focuses on the development of ideological frameworks in US grand strategy, focusing on how normative considerations influence American foreign policy and global power dynamics. Through this line of work, he seeks to uncover the impact of historical value-systems on contemporary foreign policy decisions. Imparato is the author of The Sovereign President (Pisa University Press, 2015; in Italian), a study on the ethics and politics of presidential leadership in foreign affairs. He is currently working on a book project on the Ethics of Giftedness, an analysis of the moral duties that stem from natural talent. He has contributed opinion pieces to several publications such as Stat, The Hill, The Diplomat, and Newsweek. Imparato has been awarded several teaching awards and was chosen twice among the best 12 professors at Harvard to give a lecture at Harvard Lectures that Last. He is the recipient of the Harvard Certificate of Distinction in Teaching, the Harvard Certificate of Teaching Excellence, and the Dean's Commendation for Distinguished Teaching Performance.