Rate My Professor John Tate

Dr John Tate is an Honorary Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of Newcastle's College of Human and Social Futures, having retired from full-time service at the beginning of 2025. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy and a Bachelor of Economics (Honours Class I), both from the University of Sydney. Tate was appointed as the foundation lecturer in Politics at the University of Newcastle in August 1997 and advanced to Senior Lecturer within the Newcastle Business School. He served as Head of Discipline in Politics and International Relations from 2010 to 2012, Student Academic Conduct Officer for the Newcastle Business School from 2017 to 2024, and Editor of its Discussion Paper series from 2018 to 2020. Earlier in his career, he was a part-time lecturer at the University of Wollongong and held casual tutoring positions at the University of Western Sydney and the University of New South Wales. Tate also chaired the Faculty Library Committee from 1998 to 2005 and was involved in other faculty committees.

His primary research interests are in political philosophy and the history of political thought, along with Australian government and politics, and comparative government and politics. Tate explores themes such as freedom of speech and expression, toleration, the limits of individual liberty in liberal democracies, and the liberal tradition exemplified by thinkers like John Locke, Voltaire, and John Stuart Mill. Among his major publications are the books Politics in Australia: Assessing the Evidence (Palgrave Macmillan, 2012, with M. Drum), Liberty, Toleration and Equality: John Locke, Jonas Proast and the Letters Concerning Toleration (Routledge, 2016), and Liberty, Governance and Resistance: Competing Discourses in John Locke's Political Philosophy (Routledge, 2024). Selected journal articles include "The U.S. Supreme Court and the Religiously Devout: Separation, Privatization, and Toleration" (Oxford Journal of Law and Religion, 2025), "'No-Platforming': Freedom of Speech and the Australian Public Sphere" (Australian Journal of Politics and History, 2024), and "Toleration, Skepticism, and Blasphemy: John Locke, Jonas Proast, and Charlie Hebdo" (American Journal of Political Science, 2016). Tate has published over 30 journal articles and 16 book chapters.