The study of the politics of identities is a cross-cutting research area that draws faculty from all areas of the discipline and beyond.  Faculty and students interested in identities examine it as both cause and effect, studying the ways in which race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and other politically relevant factors shape political behavior and attitudes.  We also explore the ways in which identities are constituted, and what this means for politics.

Our research and teaching address the powerful role played by ethnicity, gender, and race in politics across the world.  Our faculty and students work on many dimensions of identity, but we have particular expertise in public opinion, social mobilization, immigration, and citizenship. We seek to understand how these factors shape and are shaped by ethnicity, gender, and race.  We approach identity as a crucial factor in politics in many areas of the globe, including the United States, and our faculty have wide-ranging area expertise that they bring to bear on large questions of political identities.

Faculty:

Emeritus Faculty:

Associates:

The Politics of Identities group encourages the participation in programs across the UCSB campus. We collaborate with a number of related groups and departments. These collaborators include Sociology, History- Comparative Race and Ethnicity, the Broom Center for Demography, and the Center for Middle East Studies; and the departments of Anthropology, Asian American Studies, Black Studies, Chicano Studies, Feminist Studies, Global Studies, Linguistics, and Religious Studies.

Requirements:

Politics of Identities (POI) can be selected as a secondary field in conjunction with one of the traditional fields. The POI is distinct from traditional sub-fields. Its theories, concepts, and empirical work incorporate expertise from across the traditional sub-fields and it is interdisciplinary in nature.

Click here for a printable version of the Politics of Identities requirements.

Areas of Specialization

The areas of specialization allow for a wide-range of interests including political theory, human rights, policy analysis, international relations (ethnic conflict, civil war), comparative and American politics (ethnicity and political parties, social movements, democratic development), religion, immigrants, and demography among others.

  • Ethnic & Identity Conflict1

  • Ethnic/Racial Politics (Comparative and American Politics)

  • Intersectionality (Gender, Sexuality, Race, Class, Religion)

  • Migration and Citizenship

  • Theories and Concepts of Identity

Courses

All students wishing to complete the POI sub-field are required to take four (4) courses, at least three (3) of them, from the following list of courses offered by POI faculty in the department. Students interested in specializing in the sub-field are advised to take at least one POI course from the department in each of the first two years of study. Consultation with the faculty advisor about which courses to take at the beginning of the school year and at least once each quarter is strongly recommended. 

PS 237       Social Movements/Collective Action (Ahuja, Bruhn)

PS 252       Public Opinion and Political Participation (Parker)

PS 263       Race/Gender in American Politics (Lien)

PS 274       Contemporary Civil War & Political Violence (Coggins)

PS 594AS   American Social Movement (Parker)

PS 594BT   Black Political Thought (Rice, Parker)

PS 594PG   Politics & Gender (Brysk)

PS 594xx    Migration and Forced Displacement (Masterson)

PS 594xx    Immigration and Identity (Bruhn)

PS 594CI    Citizenship, Culture, and Consent (Gonzalez)

PS 594RP   Race and Politics (Orr)

PS 594IN    International Intervention (Nomikos)

 
Additional Elective Courses from Outside the Department
 

Departments offering identity related courses include Anthropology, Black Studies, Chicano/Chicana Studies, Communications, East Asian Language and Culture, Feminist Studies, Gervitz School of Education, Global Studies, History, Linguistics, Psychology and Brain Sciences, Religious Studies, Sociology.

Identity Events

Students who intend to declare identity as a secondary exam field within Political Science are required to attend the identity events at least once per quarter with credit given (1 credit per quarter).  POI students are expected to attend a minimum of six identity events before completing their qualifying papers or taking the oral exam on POI. Students are strongly encouraged to present their working papers in one of the POI workshop panels offered periodically upon demand.

Oral Exam / Field Paper

An oral exam is required for students entering in or after Fall 2025. Students are expected to present their work-in-progress at the Identity Workshop and at one or more professional association annual meetings or other conferences.   

Students entering before Fall 2025 and interested in pursuing Politics of Identities as a secondary exam field can petition to write a field paper in a self-defined field on POI or take the oral exam.

All interested students should consult the Forms and Petitions section on the departmental website regarding Graduate Program Requirements for more details on how to declare a qualifying field in POI.

Identity Events:

The Politics of Identities group sponsors three workshops a quarter at which students and faculty from across UCSB present their ongoing research.  Students present their papers in politics of identities (see requirements) and are also encouraged to present seminar papers, conference papers, draft articles and chapters of their dissertation for discussion and feedback.  In addition to regular workshops, the Politics of Identities group sponsors lectures by outside experts in the identity field.

Politics of Identities Events, 2024-25 

 

Thursday, May 8, 2025 - MCC Theater and Lounge

Panel: 4 - 5:30pm; Reception: 5:30-7pm

Boundless Love - Enduring Legacy of Cedric J. Robinson in Teaching, Research, and Activism

Panelists: Dr. Françoise Cromer, Dr. H. L. T. Quan, Dr. Marisela Marquez, Dr. Tiffany Willoughby-Herard, Dr. Jasmine Noelle Yarish, Dr. Gregory Freeland, and Elizabeth P. Robinson.

Moderators: Dr. AJ Rice and Dr. Chase Hobbs-Morgan.

 

 

Thursday, February 13, 2025, 12:30pm- 2pm, @Ellison Hall 3824
Jane Junn, "The Allure of Patriarchy: Explaining Support for Gender Inequality in U.S. Politics"
 
USC Associates Chair in Social Sciences and Professor of Political Science and Gender & Sexuality Studies, University of Southern California, lead author of Women Voters: Race, Gender, and Dynamism in American Elections (Cambridge Elements, 2024)
 
 

Thursday, February 6, 2025, 2pm- 3:30pm, @Ellison Hall 3824

Hahrie Han, book talk: Undivided: The Quest for Racial Solidarity in an American Church (Penguin Random House, 2024).
 
Professor of Political Science & inaugural director of SNF Agora, John Hopkins University
 
 
Tuesday, October 22, 2024, 6:30pm – 8pm, @Chem 1179
The Choice of Our Lives--For Real: Identity, Media, and the 2024 Election
 
Election panel by Christopher Parker, Bruce Bimber, Alfredo Gonzalez, & Alison Brysk (chair)
Faculty in Political Science and Global Studies, UC Santa Barbara
 
The most important election in recent history is upon us. This is a common refrain, but it
rings true in this case. With the recent Supreme Court decision that grants a president
immunity for most acts committed in office, some say that the republic will not survive
another Trump presidency. If, on the other hand, Harris wins, Trump has said that a
bloodbath will ensue. How, as a country, did we get here? From clashing visions of
American national identity, to the ways in which group identities inform our political
preferences, this election ultimately rests on identity. In this roundtable, we discuss the
relationship between identity, polarization, and the 2024 election. We also explore the
ways in which the media--social and otherwise--mediates the relationship between all
three.
 
 
 

Wednesday, October 9, 2024, 5pm - 6:30pm, @HSSB 6220 McCune Conference Room

Childless Cat Ladies, Trans Kids, DEI Hires, and Not White Wives
 
Election panel by Chris McAuley, Pei-te Lien, Jigna Desai, Jane Ward, Noshi Shah, & Diane Fujino
Faculty in Asian American Studies, Black Studies, Feminist Studies, Political Science, and Center for Feminist Futures 
 
 
 

[1]Ethnic and identity conflict can include a focus on conflict in one or more of the following traditional subfields:  international relations, comparative politics, and American politics.