Arlene W. Saxonhouse [1944–] is professor of political science and women's studies at the University of Michigan. "...[Her] research focuses on ancient and early modern political thought. Her previous publications studied how attention to gender enriches our understanding of the political thought of the ancient theorists, how the debts that Hobbes's political thought has to the thought of Machiavelli help us understand the theoretical bases of modern political thought, and how careful readings of the ancient theorists provide previously unexplored insights into the possibilities and limits of democratic theory. Her current work continues the study of how ancient political theory contributes to democratic theory and how gender in Plato's dialogues casts questions on traditional readings of his political thought...." (from Professor Saxonhouse's University of Michigan website)

Her publications include Women in the History of Political Thought: Ancient Greece to Machiavelli (1985), Fear of Diversity: The Birth of Political Science in Ancient Greek Thought (1992), Three Discourses: A Modern Critical Edition of Newly Identified Works by the Young Thomas Hobbes, edited with Noel B. Reynolds (1995), and Athenian Democracy: Modern Mythmakers and Ancient Theorists (1996), and Free Speech and Democracy in Ancient Athens (2006).