Dissertation: Powerlessness and Anti-Democratic Political Behavior 
Dissertation Committee: Scott Clifford (Chair), Elizabeth Simas, Ling Zhu, and Scott Savage

Brian Sullivan is a Ph.D. candidate in the department of political science, studying American politics and political theory. His research focuses on public opinion and political psychology, as well as experimental and survey methodology. In his dissertation, Brian argues that feeling a lack of control over one’s life makes people more likely to endorse conspiracies, adopt populist beliefs and support political violence. Brian received an M.A. in political science from SUNY Stony Brook and B.A.s in political science and philosophy from William Paterson University of New Jersey.

Tom Hanna is a Ph.D. candidate in the department of political science. He studies international relations and comparative politics. His specific research interests are authoritarian politics, ideology, conflict and international political economy with a particular interest in East Asia. His dissertation examines the role of leadership ideology and rhetoric in nondemocracies in fostering autocracy promotion or threats to democracy. He graduated with a B.S. in political science with a minor in economics, summa cum laude from the University of Houston.

EunHye Grace Cho is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science studying political theory and international relations. Her research interests include modern and contemporary political thought (Rousseau, Tocqueville, Strauss, Niebuhr), secularization, religion and politics, liberalism and international political theory. EunHye graduated summa cum laude from the Handong Global University majoring in international relations and received a Master of Arts in international relations from the Seoul National University in South Korea. She wrote her M.A. thesis about Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s international political thought.

Aparajita Datta is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science studying public policy and international relations, and a research scholar at UH Energy, the umbrella for energy efforts across the University of Houston System. Her research interests include policy feedback and network analyses focused on the energy transition, climate change mitigation, and improving energy equity for low-income communities in the U.S. Aparajita holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science and engineering from the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, India; and master’s degrees in energy management, and public policy from the University of Houston.

Shana Hardin is a Ph.D. student and teaching assistant in the department of political science studying comparative politics and public policy. Her research interests include policies concerning societal inequalities, the role of identities, and gender politics in cross-country analyses. In her first semester in the Ph.D. program, she presented a collaborative project on gender equality norms at MPSA. Shana graduated summa cum laude from the University of Houston in December 2020 with a B.A. in political science and a minor in Spanish. During her undergraduate career, the Provost recognized Shana’s research on factors that determine women’s electoral success in running for Congress as one of the outstanding projects for the 2019-20 school year.

David Hilden is a political science Ph.D. student at the University of Houston. He is interested in international relations and civil-military relations, with particular interest in social media as they relate to these domains. He received his M.A. from the University of Michigan and his B.A. (magna cum laude) from Northern Michigan University.

Julio Cesar Rodriguez Araujo is a Ph.D. student and teaching assistant in the department of political science. I am studying political theory and American Politics. I am interested in ancient and medieval political philosophy and biopolitics. I am interested in examining mechanisms through which human life is managed and developed under regimes of authority consisting of health politics, which branches into life-style management integrated into the economic and social management of society. I received my B.A. in philosophy from the University of Houston-Downtown, an M.A. in philosophy from Houston Baptist University, an M.A. in political science from Texas State University, an M.S. in bioethics from The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Billy Justus is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science studying American Politics and public policy. His research interests are primarily in judicial politics. Additional interests include race/ethnicity studies, influence of media and methodology, especially text as data. Billy holds a M.S. in government analytics from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in political science from the University of North Carolina Asheville. Prior to starting the program, Billy worked professionally administering federal student aid for undergraduates and overseeing compliance for pharmacy students.

H.M. Kim is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science studying comparative politics and public policy. His research interests include corruption and clientelism, particularly the effect of partisanship on voters’ perception of corruption. H.M. received his M.A. in political science from Pusan National University.

Shiladitya Kumar is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science at the University of Houston studying comparative politics and American politics. His research interests primarily lie in studying both inferential and formal models of electoral competition, with a specific focus on campaign finance and its effects on political competition and incumbency advantage. He also has allied interests in political psychology, gender politics, experimental design and causal inference. He has a B.Sc. (Honors) and M.A. in economics, along with an M.Phil. in development studies from IGIDR, Mumbai.

Songeun Emily Lee is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science studying international eelations and political methodology. Her research interests include foreign aid, regionalism, democratization and Japanese politics. She graduated magna cum laude from Myongji University, South Korea with a major in political science and received a Master of Arts and completed a Ph.D. coursework in political science from Yonsei University, South Korea.

Lucia Lopez is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science studying American politics and public policy. Her research interests include institutions, the intersection of executive, judicial, and legislative power, and gender in politics.

Lucia graduated magna cum laude from law school and worked for the American Civil Liberties Union before starting her doctoral program. Lucia has worked on policy and legal research projects which included civil rights jurisprudence in state courts, the economic impact of intimate partner violence, police brutality, voting rights and discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation and disability status.

In her spare time, Lucia enjoys cooking, spending time with her family and failing at arts and crafts.

Lucas Lothamer is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science studying American Politics and methodology. His research interests include electoral behavior, political psychology, and experimental methods. He is currently studying political cynicism and uses experiments and survey data to analyze the effects of cynical attitudes on political behavior. Lucas Lothamer received his B.A. and M.A. in political science from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Kyle Martin is a doctoral student in the department of political science studying political theory and American politics. His research interests include politics and religion, as well as the work and political theory of Abraham Kuyper. Kyle graduated magna cum laude from Biola University with a bachelor’s degree in cinema and media arts, and as an alumni of the Torrey Honors College. Following graduation, Kyle worked in the film industry before transitioning into nonprofit work with charter schools in Southern California as a credentialed Human Resources Professional.

Silky Joshi Malik is a doctoral student at in the department of political sciences studying American Politics and public policy. Her research interests focus on questions at the intersection of feminism, gender, race and political behavior.

Silky is a native Houstonian and a proud alum of the University of Houston. Graduating magna cum laude and with University Honors, she holds a dual bachelor’s degree in sociology and psychology from the University of Houston, and a master’s degree in business administration from West Texas A&M.

In 2017, Silky was the first woman to run for the U.S. House of Representatives in Texas’ 2nd Congressional District; in 2020 she published a book detailing her run for office and experience as a political newcomer.

Leah Sparkman is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science studying international relations and comparative politics. She is interested in studying conflict, political violence and explanatory factors of domestic terrorism. Leah Sparkman received her B.A. in political science from the University of Arkansas at Monticello, where she graduated summa cum laude and with Pi Sigma Alpha honors. Right before joining the doctoral program, Leah worked on an Arkansas SURF grant research project focusing on using comparative methodology to analyze domestic terrorism in the European Union and United States.

JeongKyu (JK) Suh is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science, studying American politics and comparative politics. His research interests include political psychology, political behavior, and race and ethnicity, with a particular focus on the impact of in-group favoritism and counter-stereotypes on political attitudes. Methodologically, he is also interested in experimental methods. Before JeongKyu joined the University of Houston, he received his B.A. in political science & international relations (summa cum laude) from Kookmin University and his M.A. in political science from Sogang University. During his M.A. in South Korea, he studied intergroup relations between immigrants and native majorities within Korean political contexts by conducting several experiments.

Pablo is a Ph.D. student at the department of political science, focusing on comparative politics and methods. His research interests include legislative politics and judicial politics in Latin America, as well as comparative constitutional law. He uses experiments and machine learning to analyse presidential vetoes and legislative overrides across Latin American congresses. Before coming here, Pablo studied comparative politics (London School of Economics and Political Science), research methods (University of Oxford) and law (Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador). After graduation, Pablo spent three years as advisor to the president of the Constitutional Court in Ecuador and as a professor of constitutional law at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador.

Liliana Veloz Marquez is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science. Her research interest is in comparative politics and public policy, focusing on transparency, accountability and corruption, populism and clientelism in Latin America and Mexico. Liliana finished her master's in administration and public policy at Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE) in Mexico. She worked as chief executive officer of the Mexican Accountability Network, an academic and civil organization project that seeks to contribute to the design of strategies to promote transparency, access to information and fight against corruption in Mexico. She tutors students at Professional Master Programs at FLACSO Mexico.

Ting-wei Weng is a Ph.D. student in the department of political sciences studying American politics and comparative politics. His research interests center around political psychology, electoral behavior and experimental methods. His recent works focus on the motivations and decision-making processes of the independents. He received a B.A. in public administration and policy from National Taipei University in Taiwan, and M.A in political science from Stony Brook University.

Jamie M. Wright is a Ph.D. candidate in the department of political science, studying American politics and comparative politics, with an expected graduation date of spring 2023. Her primary research interests focus on the intersection of political behavior, public opinion and media effects with a particular focus on the role that social media plays. Her dissertation explores how social media and celebrity activism online affect younger Americans’ political socialization and their entry into the political sphere using survey experiments and observational data. Jamie received her M.A. in political science (with honors and distinction) from the University of West Florida and her B.A. degrees in political science and history (magna cum laude) from Centenary College of Louisiana.

Chanwoong Yoon is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science studying comparative politics. He focuses on the subject of political economy, inequality and social spending. Graduating from Korea University with B.A. in business and M.A. in political science, his dissertation in M.A. was on electoral effects of disaster aid given circumstance of COVID-19 in South Korea.

Robert Alvarez is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science studying American politics and political theory. His research interests include political communication, public opinion and political behavior, with particular interest in the effects of mass media on political attitudes. Robert received his B.A. in journalism from the University of Houston and MLA in political science from the University of St. Thomas.

Myriam Shiran is a Ph.D. candidate in the department of political science, studying international relations and comparative politics. Her research is focused on the impact of electoral gender quotas, political psychology, environmental justice and climate change. She received her M.A in sociocultural anthropology from Tehran University, Iran and holds a B.A in English literature and linguistics.

Naomi Nubin-Sellers is a Ph.D. student and teaching assistant in the department of political science and a American Political Science Association Diversity Fellow. She currently studies public policy and American politics. More specifically, her interests fall at the intersection of state politics and policy, political institutions, and racial and ethnic politics. Her most recent work was awarded the Sammy Younge best student paper award from the 2021 National conference of Black Political Scientists.

Gathoni Kimondo is a Ph.D. candidate at the department of political science, studying comparative (gender and politics) and policy. Dissertation research is on election violence against women in Africa and its effect on political ambition. Her research interests include democratization, women in politics, representation and policy.

UH Instructor POLS 3396-01 Women and Politics in Africa.

She has a bachelor’s degree in economics and finance as well as a Master of Public Affairs, both from The University of Texas at Dallas.

Prior to joining the Ph.D. program, she ran a women’s human rights organization in Kenya that addressed violence against women and advocated for the advancement of gender equity and equality.

Larrisa Landin is a Ph.D. student in the department of political science studying methods and public policy. Her research interests include political behavior, minority voting trends, government funding and early childhood education. Larrisa received her B.S. in sociology from the University of Houston-Downtown and MPA in public administration from the University of Texas at Tyler.

Hui Zhou is a Ph.D. candidate in the department of political science at the University of Houston. He studies public policy and comparative politics. His research interests include social policy, health care policy and comparative politics in East and Southeast Asian countries. His dissertation examines the causes and effects of government accountability in China through the lens of crisis management, information control and policy outcomes. Hui is interested in quantitative methods, including but not limited to regression models, text analysis, quasi-experimental designs such as DID and RDD and survey experiments. His research has appeared in Journal of Contemporary China, Social Science & Medicine and International Journal of Legal Medicine.