Matt Nelsen
Matt Nelsen is an assistant professor within the Department of Political Science at the University of Miami and a Research Consultant for the GenForward Survey at the University of Chicago. His work explores the possibilities and challenges of forging a vibrant, multiracial democracy in the United States. This includes projects on political socialization in public schools and the role of geography in shaping political attitudes and preferences. Matt’s research is characterized by innovative, community-engaged, and mixed-methods research designs that pay keen attention to the nuances of race, place, and generational groups. His work is published within a number of journals, including Perspectives on Politics, Political Behavior, Urban Affairs Review, The Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, Psychological Inquiry, and The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
Matt’s book, The Color of Civics: Civic Education for a Multiracial Democracy, is published by Oxford University Press and explores how civic education courses shape the political attitudes and behaviors of high schoolers along the lines of race and ethnicity. This work grew out of his doctoral dissertation, which received three awards from the American Political Science Association, including the E.E. Schattschneider Award for best doctoral dissertation in the field of American government and the best dissertation award in political psychology and education politics and policy.
A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, Matt received dual bachelor’s degrees in political science and Asian Studies as a first-generation college student at St. Olaf College and holds a M.A. in social sciences from the University of Chicago. He received his PhD in political science from Northwestern University. Before entering academia, Matt was a public school teacher in San Antonio, Texas.