Political Science

• Our faculty have research expertise in the study of voting and elections, courts, public opinion, the presidency, social programs, terrorism and political violence.
• We have a particular expertise in the study of voting and elections, with specialists in voting behavior, public opinion, elections, and turnout both within the American states, in the United States and across the globe, including the study of both democratic and nondemocratic regimes.
• Many of our students serve as research assistants and even as collaborators on faculty research.
• This experience provides students with first-hand research experience, mentoring from established researchers and a way to develop analytical and communication skills.
• View faculty profiles for more information about each faculty member’s research area. You may contact faculty members to discuss your interest in becoming a research assistant or collaborator.

Philosophy

• UMKC Philosophy faculty have research strengths in the history of philosophy, value theory, and public philosophy.
• Our faculty have particular expertise in ancient philosophy, medieval philosophy, 19th century philosophy, existentialism, applied ethics, philosophy of law, philosophy of literature, philosophy of mind, epistemology, philosophy of love, sex, and gender, feminist philosophy, and social and political philosophy.
• Our research often emphasizes the ways in which philosophy can enrich public debates and civic life. You can find our publications in popular outlets like The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic, Harper’s, Esquire, The New Republic, Lapham’s Quarterly, and The Paris Review, among others.
• View faculty profiles for more information about each faculty member’s research area. You may contact faculty members to discuss your interest in any area of undergraduate research. 

Political Science

• Brannon, Elizabeth and Rebecca Best. Here for the right reasons: The selection of women as peace delegates. International Studies Review (2022).

• Leiter, Debra; Jack Reilly, and Beth Vonnahme. The crowding of social distancing: How social context and interpersonal connections affect individual responses to coronavirus. Social Science Quarterly (2021).

• Best, Rebecca and Greg Vonnahme. Military service and legislative agendas: A study of legislators in four states. Armed Forces and Society (2021).

• Woodson, Benjamin W. and Christopher M. Parker. The Chief Justice versus the iconoclast: Popular constitutionalism and support for using "sociological gobbledygook" in legal decisions. Law and Society Review (2021).

• Best, Rebecca H.; Shair-Rosenfield,Sarah and Wood, Reed M. Legislative gender diversity and the resolution of civil conflict. Political Research Quarterly (2018).

• Leiter, Debra. Social networks, predispositions and split-ticket voting: The case of the 1990 German unification election. Political Studies (2018).

• Skidmore, Max J. Thoughts on constitutions: Occasioned by a congress on Iceland’s democracy. World Affairs (2018).

• Woodson, Benjamin. The dynamics of legitimacy change for the U.S. Supreme Court. Justice System Journal 39(1) 75 (2018).

• Vonnahme, Greg; Fortunato, David and Stevenson, Randolph T. Context and political knowledge: Explaining cross-national variation in partisan left-right knowledge. The Journal of Politics 78(4) 1211 (2016).

• Lyne, Mona M. THe Voter's Dilemma and Democratic Accountability: Latin American and Beyond. PSU Press (2008).

Philosophy

• Martin, Clancy. How Not to Kill Yourself: A Portrait of the Suicidal Mind. Penguin Random House (2023).

• Nally, Gwen. Believing Ancient Women: Feminist Epistemologies for Greece and Rome. With Megan Bowen and Mary Gilbert. Edinburgh University Press, (forthcoming 2023).

• Martin, Clancy. The Philosophy of Love and Sex. With Carol Hay. Oxford University Press (forthcoming 2023).

• Nally, Gwen. “Bringing Up Beauty: Reproductive Love in the Symposium.” Proceedings of the Ancient Philosophy Society 2022 in Epoché: A Journal for the History of Philosophy, Volume 28: 1, Fall 2023.