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Hire a UNT Ph.D.

AMERICAN POLITICS

Alexander Goodwin -- Vita

  • Ph.D. Candidate (expected completion 2023).
  • Areas of Interest: American Politics, Race and Ethnic Politics, Social Movements, Black Politics, Policing, Public Opinion
  • Dissertation: "Protesting the "Right" Way: Exploring Respectability Politics and Support for Black Lives Matter"
  • Committee: Dr. Tony Carey Jr. (Co-Chair), Dr. Valerie Martinez-Ebers (Co-Chair), Dr. John Ishiyama, Dr. Diego Esparza, Dr. Melanye Price (Prairie View A&M University)
  • Email: AlexanderGoodwin@my.unt.edu

Raul Guerrero -- Vita

  • Ph.D. Candidate (expected completion 2022).
  • Areas of Interest: American Politics: Racial and Ethnic Politics; LGBTQ+ Politics, Political Behavior; Comparative: Ethnic Conflict, Transitional Justice
  • Dissertation: "Competing Identities? The Interactions between Race, Gender, Sexual Orientation and their Impact on Political Behavior"
  • Committee: Valerie Martinez-Ebers (Chair), Dr. John Ishihyama, Dr. Jacqueline Demeritt, Dr. Regina Branton
  • Email: joseguerrero3@my.unt.edu

Josh Montgomery -- Vita

  • Ph.D. Candidate (expected completion 2023).
  • Areas of Interest: American Politics, Media and Politics, Political Theory, Judicial Politics
  • Dissertation: "Partisan Bias in Broadcast and Cable News: Testing Three Theories of News Generation in the First Trump Impeachment"
  • Committee: Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha (Chair), Regina Branton, Alexander Duff, and Ashley English
  • Email: joshuamontgomery2@my.unt.edu

COMPARATIVE POLITICS

Michael Mahdi Amiri -- Vita

  • Ph.D. Candidate (expected completion 2022)
  • Areas of Interest: Comparative Islamic-Western Political Thought, Political Corruption, Islamic Jurisprudence and Political Rule, Political Reformation in Islamic Thought, Middle East Politics, Iranian Intellectual History and the impacts of the West, Politics and Theology in Iran, New Technologies and Authoritarian Rule
  • Dissertation: "A Plague on the State? Political Corruption in Machiavelli and Ibn Khaldun"
  • Committee: Richard Ruderman (chair), John Ishiyama, Marijke Breuning and Alexander Duff
  • Email: MichaelAmiri@my.unt.edu

Amanda White Bennett -- Vita

  • Ph.D. (2020)
  • Areas of Interest: comparative politics, international political economy, organized crime and violent non-state actors, Latin American politics
  • Dissertation: "Risky Business: A Subnational Analysis of Organized Crime and Foreign Direct Investment in Mexico"
  • Committee: Glen Biglaiser (Chair), John Ishiyama, T. David Mason, and Lee Walker
  • Email: amanda.white@unt.edu

Post Basnet -- Vita

  • Ph.D. (2022). Currently a visiting assistant professor at Saint Louis University.
  • Areas of interest: comparative politics, ethnic politics, political parties, civil war, South and Southeast Asian politics.
  • Dissertation: "Ethnic Parties: Their Emergence, Survival, and Impact"
  • Committee: John Ishiyama (Chair), David Mason, Jacqueline DeMeritt, and Ko Maeda.
  • Email: PostBasnet@my.unt.edu

Gabriela Okundaye -- Vita, Website

  • Ph.D. (2022). Currently a visiting assistant professor at Midwestern State University.
  • Areas of Interest: Comparative Politics; Immigration; Race and Ethnic Politics; Women and Politics; Political Violence and Conflict; Political Behavior.
  • Dissertation: "Pre-Migratory Experiences of Immigrants and the Political Effects of Suitcase Socialization"
  • Committee: John Ishiyama (Co-chair), Lee Walker (Co-chair), Valerie Martinez-Ebers, and Andrea Silva.
  • Email: GabrielaOkundaye@my.unt.edu

Michael Widmeier -- Vita, Website

  • Ph.D. (2020)
  • Areas of Interest: Comparative politics, international relations, civil war, rebel organization, causes and consequences of refugees, violence against civilians
  • Dissertation: "Where Do They Come From, and Where Do They Go? Rebel Group Origins and the Dynamics of Civil War"
  • Committee: Idean Salehyan (Chair), John Ishiyama, T. David Mason, and Jacqueline DeMeritt.
  • Email: MichaelWidmeier@my.unt.edu

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Bora Jeong -- Vita, Website

  • Ph.D. (2021). Currently a visiting assistant professor at Macalester College.
  • Areas of Interest: International Relations, Conflict Management, International Political Economy, Political Violence, and Civil Conflicts
  • Dissertation: "Foreign Direct Investment and Sustainable Peace during/after Civil Conflicts"
  • Committee: Michael Greig (Chair), Glen Biglaiser, John Ishiyama, and T. David Mason
  • Email: bjeong@macalester.edu

DeAnne Roark -- Vita

  • Ph.D. Candidate (expected completion 2023)
  • Areas of Interest: International Relations, Gender and Security, Human Rights, Transitional Justice, Conflict Studies, Peace & Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict Political Behavior
  • Dissertation: "Protecting Women?: Causes and Effects of Gender-Informed Transitional Justice"
  • Committee: Jacqueline DeMeritt (Co-Chair), Michael Greig (Co-Chair), Regina Branton, Ashley English, and Kimi King
  • Email: pollyroark@my.unt.edu

Makito Takei -- Vita, Website

  • Ph.D. Candidate (expected completion 2023)
  • Areas of Interest: International War, International Cooperation, Crisis Bargaining, Audience Costs, Reputation, Alliance, Experiments
  • Dissertation: "In Search of Audience Costs: The Media, Personality, and Public Threats"
  • Committee: Andrew Enterline (chair), Michael Greig, Marijke Breuning, Phil Paolino, Atsushi Tago (Waseda University)
  • Email: MakitoTakei@my.unt.edu

POLITICAL THEORY

Michael Mahdi Amiri -- Vita

  • Ph.D. Candidate (expected completion 2022)
  • Areas of Interest: Comparative Islamic-Western Political Thought, Political Corruption, Islamic Jurisprudence and Political Rule, Political Reformation in Islamic Thought, Middle East Politics, Iranian Intellectual History and the impacts of the West, Politics and Theology in Iran, New Technologies and Authoritarian Rule
  • Dissertation: "A Plague on the State? Political Corruption in Machiavelli and Ibn Khaldun"
  • Committee: Richard Ruderman (chair), John Ishiyama, Marijke Breuning and Alexander Duff
  • Email: MichaelAmiri@my.unt.edu

Sebastian R. Graham

  • Ph.D. (2022). Currently a visiting assistant professor at UT Dallas.
  • Areas of Interest: Classical Political Philosophy, Modern Political Philosophy, Politics and Literature, Political Psychology, Political Ambition, Leadership, Statesmanship, Rhetoric, Democracy, Populism.
  • Dissertation: "To Constrain or to Tame: Machiavelli and Aristotle on the issue of Popular Leadership and Demagoguery"
  • Committee: Richard Ruderman (chair), Steven Forde, Marijke Breuning, and Alexander Duff
  • Email: srg0125@unt.edu

Placement Record

Placement Director - Dr. Matthew Eshbaugh-Soha - Matthew.Eshbaugh-Soha@unt.edu