Born in Chicago and educated at the University of Michigan and Princeton, Hirsch has taught at Harvard, the University of California-San Diego, Macalester College, and Oberlin, where he served as Dean of the Faculty and is now the Erwin N. Griswold Professor of Politics Emeritus. He is the author of The Enigma of Felix Frankfurter ("brilliant and sure to be controversial," The New York Times), A Theory of Liberty, and the memoir Office Hours ("well-crafted and wistful," Kirkus), as well as numerous articles on law, politics, and constitutional questions.