Bill Connolly's political theory course at UMass was my very favorite class of all time. I was reminded of him with the recent news of Jürgen Habermas's death, and was saddened to learn of Connolly's own passing less than a month ago. Connolly was deeply influenced by Habermas, but he was his own thinker. Over the years my own intellectual trajectory moved away from abstract political philosophy into empirical economics, with all its reductionism and reification. Connolly would not have approved, but I am certain he left a mark on my politics and thought.
He was an old-school professor, ad-lib lecturing with his take on the intricate arguments of Rousseau, Hegel, Althusser. Perhaps I was actually as lost as many of my fellow students said they were, but it felt like I was being let in on something profound, that ideas matter, and that with enough attention and concentration, I could participate in the discourse. Connolly lived long enough to witness the triumph of cruelty, selfishness, and irrationality over the pluralism and humanism that defined his worldview. If we overcome those trends, it is sad to think that he will not be here to witness.
Another short appreciation can be found here.
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