Faculty Research Interests
UMass Political Science Faculty have a variety of research interests. To see their research clusters, click here!

People : Faculty

People

Faculty

	Amel Ahmed Assistant Professor of Political Science Thompson 404 Office Hours: Spring 2013: Tues/Thurs 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM Phone: (413) 545-6187 Email: aahmed@polsci.umass.edu Interests: My main area of specialization is democratic politics, with a special interest in the dynamics of elite vs. popular control over democratic decision-making. I am currently working on several projects which examine the politics of institutional...
	Roberto Alejandro Professor of Political Science Thompson 226 Office Hours: To Be Announced Phone: (413) 545-6177 Email: ralejand@polsci.umass.edu Interests: My research interests include Greek philosophy and tragedies, Nietzsche, contemporary liberal theory, and American political thought. Civic Research: As part of my civic work in Puerto Rico, I have written several essays on social issues. These...
	Sonia E. Alvarez Leonard J. Horwitz Professor of Latin American Politics Director, Center for Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies Thompson 424 Office Hours: To Be Announced Phone: (413) 545-0455 Email: soniaa@polsci.umass.edu Interests: I am the Director of the Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies (www.umass.edu/clacls) and Leonard J. Horwitz Professor of Latin American Politics and Studies. My fields of expertise include Latin American politics, with a focus...
	Maryann Barakso Associate Professor of Political Science President, Women and Politics Research Section, American Political Science Association Thompson 332 Office Hours: To Be Announced Phone: (413) 259-5155 Email: barakso@polsci.umass.edu Interests: My primary research interests include US and transnational interest group/NGO governance, health care politics, U.S. social movements, civic engagement, American political development and women in politics. You can follow me...
	Angelica Bernal Assistant Professor of Political Science Thompson 334 Office Hours: Spring 2013: Tues/Thurs 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM Phone: (413) 545-2761 Email: abernal@polsci.umass.edu Interests: I specialize on issues of founding and refounding, popular constitutionalism, and indigenous rights and movements in Latin America. I am interested in examining the mechanisms and challenges involved in the creation and recreation of...
	John Brigham Professor of Political Science Thompson 434 Office Hours: Spring 2013: Tues/Thurs 1:15 PM - 2:15 PM and by appointment Phone: (413) 545-0450 Email: brigham@polsci.umass.edu
	Brenda K. Bushouse Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Policy Thompson 302 and 115 Gordon Hall Office Hours: To Be Announced Phone: (413) 545-1453 Email: bushouse@polsci.umass.edu Interests: My research interests focus on the role of nonprofit organizations in the policy process. Currently I am researching the impacts of the recession of state budgets for children. Some state budgets for early education and care were...
	Charli Carpenter Associate Professor of Political Science Thompson 432 Office Hours: By Appointment Only Phone: (413) 545-6245 Email: charli.carpenter@gmail.com Interests: My teaching and research interests include national security ethics, the laws of war, transnational advocacy networks, gender and political violence, war crimes, comparative genocide studies, humanitarian affairs and the role of information...
	Barbara Cruikshank Associate Professor of Political Science Thompson 336 Office Hours: Spring 2013: Tues 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM Phone: (413) 545-6180 Email: cruiksha@polsci.umass.edu Interests: My research interests include modern and contemporary social and political theory, the history of reform, social movements, the politics of sex and sexuality, and relations of power and knowledge.
	Diane Curtis Senior Lecturer and Director of Pre-Law Advising Thompson 122 Office Hours: Summer 2013: By appointment Phone: (413) 577-0396 Email: dcurtis@polsci.umass.edu Interests: My teaching interests are primarily in the fields of Constitutional, Family and Privacy Law, as well as Legal Education.
	Bruce A. Desmarais Assistant Professor Thompson 420 Office Hours: Spring 2013: Mon 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM, and Tues/Thurs 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Phone: (413) 545-1992 Email: desmarais@polsci.umass.edu
	Carlene J. Edie Professor of Political Science Thompson 206 Office Hours: Spring 2013: Mon/Wed 2:15 PM - 3:15 PM Phone: (413) 545-6172 Email: cjedie@polsci.umass.edu
	Sam Fayyaz Chief Undergraduate Advisor and Lecturer Thompson 224 Office Hours: Spring 2013: Mod 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM, and Mon/Wed/Fri 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Phone: 413.545.3678 Email: sfayyaz@polsci.umass.edu Interests: I am a doctoral student with a concentration on contemporary political theory and comparative politics. I am most interested in questions regarding the political effects of language, cultures of neoliberalism, everyday forms of resistance, and...
	Jane Fountain Professor of Political Science and Public Policy; Adjunct Professor of Computer Science Director, National Center for Digital Government; Director, Science, Technology & Society Initiative Thompson 406 Phone: (413) 545-1007 Email: fountain@polsci.umass.edu Interests: My research interests include institutional and organization theories; institutional change and government reform; digital government; public policy and management; and science, technology and public policy.
	Alan Gaitenby Senior Lecturer, Legal Studies Thompson 208 Office Hours: Spring 2013: Tues/Thurs 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Phone: (413) 577-1394 Email: gaitenby@legal.umass.edu Interests: Alan Gaitenby is a senior lecturer in legal studies. His interests range from the construction of socially meaningful spaces (online and off) to the political and social implications of the discourse of exposure / privacy, and the...
	Sheldon Goldman Distinguished Professor of Political Science Political Science Honors Coordinator Thompson 236 Office Hours: Spring 2013: Tues 2:30 PM - 3:45 PM, and Thurs 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM Phone: (413) 545-6179 Email: sheldon.goldman@polsci.umass.edu Interests: My research interests include the politics of judicial selection and confirmation, the backgrounds and career paths of lower federal court judges,and the politics of constitutional law and civil liberties.
	Peter M. Haas Professor of Political Science Thompson 216 Office Hours: Spring 2013: Wed 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Phone: (413) 545-6174 Email: haas@polsci.umass.edu Interests: My research interests include international relations, international relations theory, international political economy, international environmental politics, international institutions and global governance.
	John A. Hird Senior Associate Dean, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Professor of Political Science and Public Policy 414 Thompson Hall Office Hours: To Be Announced Phone: (413) 545-7187 Email: jhird@sbs.umass.edu Interests: My research interests include policy expertise and advising, regulatory policy-making, the use of information in policymaking, policy analysis, and environmental policy.
	Judith Holmes Senior Lecturer, Political Science in Legal Studies Legal Studies Undergraduate Program Director, Adjunct Professor, History Thompson 232 Office Hours: Spring 2013: Wed 12:30 PM - 3:30 PM Phone: (413) 545-2305 Email: jholmes@legal.umass.edu Interests: My courses in the Legal Studies major combine my research interests in law, politics and history with my previous experience as a criminal defense attorney. Legal Studies courses I have developed are Modern Political Trials, War Crimes Tribunals,...
	Ray La Raja Associate Professor of Political Science Thompson 330 Office Hours: Spring 2013: Tues/Thurs 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM Phone: (413) 545-6182 Email: laraja@polsci.umass.edu Interests: My research interests include political parties, interest groups, elections, campaign finance, political participation, American state politics, public policy and political reform. I am also the co-editor of The Forum: A Journal of Applied...
	Daniel LaChance Assistant Professor of Political Science in Legal Studies Thompson 204 Office Hours: Spring 2013: Tues/Thurs 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM Phone: (413) 545-5878 Email: lachance@legal.umass.edu Interests: I am interested in the sources and implications of the "punitive turn" in the United States, the ratcheting up of incarceration and other forms of harsh punishment in the late 20th Century. My work has focused, in particular, on the...
	Rahsaan Maxwell Assistant Professor of Political Science 328 Thompson Email: rahsaan@polsci.umass.edu Interests: My research interests include political attitudes, identity formation, representation and participation. I examine those issues through the politics of immigrant, ethnic, racial, and religious minorities, with a focus on Western Europe.
	Lauren McCarthy Assistant Professor of Political Science in Legal Studies 438 Thompson Office Hours: On Leave Spring 2013 Phone: 413.545.1991 Email: mccarthy@legal.umass.edu Interests: My research and teaching focus on laws and legal systems of countries around the world, especially Russia. My current research examines how law enforcement agencies (police and prosecutors) have implemented laws against human trafficking in...
	Tatishe M. Nteta Assistant Professor of Political Science Thompson 238 Office Hours: Spring 2013: Tues 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM Phone: (413) 545-3546 Email: nteta@polsci.umass.edu Interests: My current research interests lie at the intersection of the politics of race and ethnicity, public opinion, and political behavior. More specifically, my work examines the impact of changing demographics and shifts in the sociopolitical...
	MJ Peterson Professor of Political Science Thompson 326 Office Hours: Spring 2013: Mon/Wed 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM, and Tues/Thurs 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM Phone: (413) 545-6171 Email: mjp@polsci.umass.edu Interests: My research interests include world politics, international institutions, international political economy, technology, and technological change.
	Dianne R. Pfundstein Assistant Professor of Political Science Jointly appointed in Commonwealth Honors College Office Hours: On leave academic year 2012-2013 Email: dpfundstein@polsci.umass.edu Interests: My research focuses on American security policy in the post Cold War period, particularly coercion and the use of military threats in U.S. foreign policy. I am also interested in how new technologies—especially unmanned aerial vehicles...
	Jesse Rhodes Assistant Professor of Political Science Political Science Undergraduate Program Director Thompson 310 Office Hours: To Be Announced Phone: (413) 545-6185 Email: jrhodes@polsci.umass.edu Interests: My major areas of scholarly interest are social policy (especially education policy), political parties, and the American presidency. My book, An Education in Politics: The Origins and Evolution of No Child Left Behind, has been published by...
	Dean E. Robinson Associate Professor of Political Science Thompson 214 Office Hours: Spring 2013: Mon/Wed 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Phone: (413) 545-0406 Email: deanr@polsci.umass.edu
	Frederic C. Schaffer Professor of Political Science Thompson 340 Office Hours: Spring 2013: Tues 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM Phone: (413) 545-0725 Email: schaffer@polsci.umass.edu Interests: My area of specialization is comparative politics. Substantively, I study the meaning of democracy, the practice of voting, and the administration of elections. What sets much of my work apart from other empirical research on democracy is a...
	Brian F. Schaffner Associate Professor of Political Science and Department Chair Thompson 316 Office Hours: By Appointment Only Phone: (413) 545-0416 Email: schaffne@polsci.umass.edu Interests: My research focuses on public opinion, campaigns and elections, political communication, political parties, and legislative politics.
	Jillian Schwedler Associate Professor of Political Science Thompson 308 Office Hours: By Appointment Only Phone: (413) 577-0688 Email: jschwedler@polsci.umass.edu Interests: My current research interests include political culture, protest and policing in Jordan, neoliberalism, identity politics, contentious politics, and state repression.
	Stuart Shulman Assistant Professor of Political Science Director, Qualitative Data Analysis Program Thompson 428 Office Hours: By Appointment Only Phone: (413) 545-5375 Email: stu@polsci.umass.edu Interests: My research interests include electronic rulemaking, human language technologies, manual annotation, digital citizenship, and service-learning efforts in the United States.
	Regine Spector Assistant Professor 416 Thompson Office Hours: Spring 2013: Wed 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM Phone: 545-6175 Email: rspector@polsci.umass.edu Interests: My research interests fall at the intersection of comparative politics, political economy, development, and Eurasian politics.
	Leah Wing Senior Lecturer, Legal Studies in Political Science Honors Program Director, Legal Studies Thompson 430 Office Hours: Spring 2013: Tues 2:00 PM - 3:45 PM Phone: (413) 545-5882 Email: lwing@legal.umass.edu Interests: Leah is on the faculty in Legal Studies at the University of Massachusetts/Amherst where she has taught Dispute Resolution since 1993. Her recent research and teaching applies Critical Race theory to mediation and issues of environmental justice....
	Nicholas Xenos Professor of Political Science Thompson 306 Office Hours: Spring 2013: Tues/Thurs 4:30 PM - 5:30 PM Phone: (413) 545-6183 Email: xenos@polsci.umass.edu
	Diana Yoon Assistant Professor of Political Science in Legal Studies Thompson 402 Office Hours: To Be Announced Phone: (413) 577-0614 Email: dyoon@legal.umass.edu
	Kevin L. Young Assistant Professor 418 Thompson Hall Office Hours: Spring 2013: Tues/Thurs 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Phone: (413) 545-2029 Email: kevinlyoung@polsci.umass.edu Interests: My research focuses on issues germane to international political economy, in particular the politics of financial regulation, international negotiation theory, transnational policy networks, and the role of private business in shaping global...