Academic Research: LGBTQ Politics, Political Behavior, & Public Policy

I have multiple research interests, but my research focuses on LGBTQ Politics, broadly defined. Having come to academia from an activist background, my research questions have always been shaped by the experiences I had and people I met while working with marginalized people in rural Tennessee. 

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My dissertation focused on the question of how these intersecting identities affected political attitudes and behavior. From that research, I have published multiple articles (some are linked below).

Since then, my work has focused on the intersection of LGBTQ and religious identities. Taking the perspective that LGBTQ people can also be religious (a perspective mostly overlooked by quantitative researchers), I have endeavored to generate a picture of how faith shapes LGBTQ identity and political development. That subject is the focus of my first book Yes Gawd! (forthcoming). 

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I also have an interest in pedagogical research and the influence of open-access, collaborative learning platforms on student learning. I have published on this subject and I am proud to co-edit a forthcoming volume on Teaching LGBTQ Politics.