Josiah Ober holds the Constantine Mitsotakis Chair in the School of Humanities and Sciences. He divides his time and academic appointment between the Departments of Classics and Political Science, and has a courtesy appointment in Philosophy. He writes and teaches courses on various topics conjoining Greek history, classical philosophy, and political theory and practice. His most recent book Athenian Legacies: Essays on the Politics of Going On Together was published in fall 2005 by Princeton University Press. He is currently completing a book with the working title, Democratic Knowledge: Innovation and Learning in Classical Athens. In addition to his ongoing work on the politics of knowledge and innovation, he is developing a project on the relationship between democracy and inherent human capacities and the ethical implications of that relationship.

Josh has authored or co-authored a number of other books, including Fortress Attica (1985), Mass and Elite in Democratic Athens (1989), The Athenian Revolution (1996), Political Dissent in Democratic Athens (1998). His writing for popular audiences includes The Anatomy of Error: Ancient Military Disasters and Their Lessons for Modern Strategists (1990 with Barry Strauss) A Company of Citizens: What the World's First Democracy Teaches Leaders about Building Great Organizations (2003 with Brook Manville). He has held residential fellowships at the National Humanities Center, Center for Hellenic Studies, Univ. of New England (Australia), Clare Hall (Cambridge), Center for the Advanced Study of the Behavioral Sciences , and Univ. of Sydney; research fellowships from the ACLS, NEH, and Guggenheim; and has been a Visiting faculty at University of Michigan, Paris I-Sorbonne 2000, and UC-Irvine. Before coming to Stanford he taught at Montana State University (1980-1990), and Princeton University (1990-2006).