The College of Arts and Sciences Welcomes New Chair
Posted on September 19, 2017 by Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences welcomes Dr. Philip Habel to the Department of Political
Science & Criminal Justice. Dr. Habel most recently served as Senior Lecturer in Politics
at the University of Glasgow in Scotland, prior to that, Southern Illinois University
in Carbondale, Illinois. He received his PhD from the University of Illinois.
Dr. Habel’s work in political communication examines the dynamics of influential relationships
and information flows among politicians, media, and the public. Recent projects apply
computational social science and big data analytics to explore topics of conversation
on social media, and how these topics evolve over time. Dr. Habel’s research has appeared
in both leading social science journals----including Political Communication; Information,
Communication & Society; Political Analysis---and in high impact Computer Science
conference proceedings. His work has been cited over 250 times.
Currently, Dr. Habel is part of a global project studying Social Media and Political Participation (SMaPP), sponsored by New York University’s Global Institute of Advanced Study. His present work in public opinion explores support and opposition toward affirmative action policies in Brazil, with projects funded by the British Academy Newton Fund Advanced Fellowship, the British Council Newton Fund Researcher Links, the FAPDF (Funacao de Apio a Pesquisa do Distrito Federal), and a fellowship in Germany at the EUROLAB at GESIS. His teaching is informed by both U.S. Politics and Comparative Politics, including course offerings in public opinion, political communication, mass media and digital media, and campaigns and elections.
Dr. Habel is excited to be part of South and looks forward to further growth and development in the Department, building on existing strengths in research, teaching, and service. We are pleased to welcome Dr. Habel to our college and we are excited for the knowledge and expertise he will bring to our students and faculty at the College of Arts and Sciences.