Democracy, Voting, & Social Justice
Dr. Jenifer Bratter - The realities of race and ethnicity as systematically stratifying are arguable driven by access to political power. Although my interests in this area are new, I am currently working on a project that explores how access to the most basic form of political power, being visible to enumeration mechanisms (i.e. the Census) is and can be shaped by community action and investments of community stakeholders.
Prof. Mahmoud El-Gamal studies philosophical, religious and popular conceptions of social justice, especially attitudes toward inequality and redistribution. He investigates empirical relationships between inequality, attitudes thereof, democratization and economic performance, with special interest in Muslim-majority countries.
Dr. Hülya Eraslan - Several of my papers compare unanimity rule with majority rule in different frameworks in terms of efficiency and in terms of fairness. The main findings can be summarized as showing that while more inclusive voting rules are likely to be more efficient, they can also be more unequal.
Prof. Matthew Hayes investigates how the inclusion of underrepresented groups in politics affects policy outcomes, symbolic representation, and citizens' evaluations of democracy.
Dr. Jonathan Homola’s research focuses on the intersection of political representation and gender and politics. Among other things, I study the causes and consequences of different levels of representation of women in parties, parliaments, and cabinets.
Dr. Melissa Marschall’s research focuses on local elections, minority representation in local office, and the ways in which underrepresented groups shape policy outcomes when they hold local office. In addition to journal articles on these topics, She has authored a number of descriptive reports about local elections in the US and civic engagement (primarily in Houston/Harris County). She is a steering committee member of a Houston in Action, a collective impact organization, and work with a wide array of community organizations whose work focuses on social justice, voting rights, and civic engagement.
Professor Diana O'Brien studies gender and politics in the United States and across established democracies. Her work asks when women gain access to political institutions from which they have historically been excluded, and examines the consequences of women’s inclusion in these posts.
Prof. Leslie Schwindt-Bayer studies the causes and consequences of political representation of women in national governments. Her work often focuses on Latin America, but she studies gender inequality in representation worldwide as well.
Prof. Bob Stein. Election reforms are intended to enhance voter participation by reducing the costs and inconveniences of casting a ballot. My research examines the impact of election laws and reforms on infrequent voters and under represented populations in the American electorate, specifically persons of color, lower socioeconomic status, and the young.
Dr. Michelle Torres research focuses on the analysis of visual content. I am interested in assessing the way in which social movements, such as the Black Lives Matter movement or the migrant caravan from Central America, are framed by media outlets. I study the political factors that generate these visual frames and the impact they have on attitudes and opinions towards social and political movements.