Elaine K. Denny

Research

Published & Forthcoming

• Extortion, Civic Action, and Political Participation among Guatemalan Deportees

  with David Dow, Gabriela Levy, and Mateo Villamizar-Chaparro

  British Journal of Political Science

  (forthcoming)

• Citizen Cooperation with the Police: Evidence from Contemporary Guatemala

  with David Dow, Wayne Pitts, and Erik Wibbels

  Comparative Political Studies

  (2023)

• Incentives, Audits and Procurement: Evidence from a District‐Level Field Experiment in Ghana

  with Ngoc Phan, Diego Romero, and Erik Wibbels

  Governance

  (2023)

• New Voices of Inquiry: How the Inclusive Classroom Catalyzes Innovative Research

  with four undergraduate research teams

  PS: Political Science

  (2023)

• Crisis, Resilience, and Civic Engagement: Pandemic-Era Census Completion

  Perspectives on Politics

  (2021)

• Economic Insecurity and Deportees' Decision to Re-migrate in a COVID-19 Era.

  with David Dow, Diego Romero, and Erik Wibbels

  Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy

  (2021)

• Calling Mogadishu: How Reminders of Anarchy Bias Survey Participation

  with Jesse Driscoll

  Journal of Experimental Political Science

  (2019)

• Organised Diffusion for Social Norm Change

  with Ben Cislaghi, et al.

  Prevention Science

  (2019)

• Ethnicity and Civil Conflict

  with Barbara Walter

  Journal of Peace Research

  (2014)

Works in Progress

• A Tradeoff Between Mental Well-Being and Mobilization

  with Melissa N. Baker

• Mindfulness over Matter: Boosting Thoughtful Information Consumption in an Era of Misinformation

  with Melissa N. Baker

• Depressed about Politics and Vulnerable to Misinformation

  with Melissa N. Baker and Christopher Ojeda

• Risk Tolerance and the Decision to Migrate: Insights from Guatemalan Deportees

  with Emily Henken-Ritter and Erik Wibbels

• The Human Impact of Deportation: Resettlement and Remigration

  with David Dow, Gabriella Levy, Wayne Pitts, Diego Romero, Juan Tellez, Mateo Villamizar Chaparro, Erik Wibbels, and Pamela Zabala

Teaching

I incorporate evidence-based best practices into my undergraduate and graduate teaching, with particular emphasis on approaches shown to support students of color, first generation learners, and low-income students. My teaching style, which views students as co-creators of knowledge, is inspired by Paolo Freire’s work. I highlight some of my teaching strategies in a piece coauthored with undergraduate research teams for PS: Political Science.

I work hard to make my classroom an inclusive space, and feedback from both graduate and undergraduate students suggests that my efforts to foster respectful, well-considered discourse are effective, even in these polarizing times. The following comments reflect student experiences from across the political spectrum and represent a range of race, ethnicity, and gender identities: “Attending her lectures was a big relief for me because I felt safe.” “I could feel like myself in this class and feel comfortable to engage.” “I can say that without a doubt I have felt more welcomed and valued in your class over any other.” “I cannot stress the true extent your course benefited me enough. Now when I engage colleagues, I feel equipped to actually approach social issues in a more nuanced and open way.”

Recognitions

Senate Faculty Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award (University of California, Merced)

The award committee describes my teaching as “enthusiastic, responsive, masterful, and inspirational”, finding “the recipient’s impressive track record shows excellence in all areas of undergraduate teaching, including command of the subject matter, innovation in evidence-based instruction methods, student advising and mentoring, and contributions to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.”

Chancellor's Office "Most meaningful impact"

Named by outgoing seniors as an instructor who "had the most meaningful impact on your university experience"

Nominee: Remote Instruction Excellence Award (UCM Office of Undergraduate Education)

Distinguished Teaching Award (University of California, San Diego)

For "those who exhibit creativity, innovative teaching methods, the ability to motivate students to actively seek out knowledge, and an extraordinary level of teaching commitment."

Bouchet Graduate Honor Society

For "scholarship, leadership, character, service and advocacy for students who have been traditionally underrepresented in the academy"

Resources

• How the Inclusive Classroom Catalyzes Innovative Research (Video presentation)
• Book Chapter: "Included and Set Up to Succeed: An Evidence-Based Approach for Teaching Experiments in the Diverse Classroom" in Teaching Experimental Political Science, edited by Elizabeth A. Bennion, Indiana University, South Bend. Forthcoming.
• Supplemental Materials for teaching experiments in the diverse classroom
• Tackling Challenging Topics in the Classroom -- a presentation for the Scholars Strategy Network, Alabama Chapter (with Bianca Amechi)

Policy

In the policy arena, I have five years' experience evaluating gender and social norms programming for DfID in Nigeria, and I have worked extensively to measure social norms change. I apply my research on insecurity and decision-making to questions of migration, particularly in North and Central America. I have extensive field experience in El Salvador and Chiapas, Mexico, and have spent five years analyzing Guatemalan survey data, particularly from deported migrants. As a postdoctoral fellow with DevLab@Duke and RTI, I evaluated programming in Ghana and India, while co-authoring a series of successful USAID grants. Other relevant experience includes work at Amnesty International and with NGOs in the U.S., Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

Select Publications and Resources

• Extortion and Civic Engagement among Guatemalan Deportees

  (with David Dow, Gabriela Levy, and Mateo Villamizar-Chaparro)

• Endline Impact Evaluation: Ghana Strengthening Accountability Mechanisms

  (with Erik Wibbels, Heather Huntington, and Brett Gall)

• Attitudes, Practices, and Social Norms Survey: Endline report

  (with Claire Hughes)

• Measuring Changes in Social Norms: Learning from Voices for Change

  (with Claire Hughes)

• Attitudes, Practice, and Social Norms: Key Gender Equality Issues in Selected Nigerian States

  (with Emeka Nwankwo)

  An in-depth report on measuring social norm change in Nigeria. It is one of the first examples globally of how to use large-n survey data to identify the existence of social norms and possible behavioral tipping points within a society.

• Social Norms: What Are They and How Are They Measured

  (with Gerry Mackie, Francesca Moneti, and Holly Shakya)

  A primer on social norms theory that presents both qualitative and quantitative tools for tracking social norms. The paper has been accessed over 13,000 times and is a common resource for UNICEF staff and international development professionals globally.

Media

• 4 things the Biden administration should pay attention to with the border crisis

  (with D. Dow, J. Ordoñez, W. Pitts, D. Romero, J. Tellez, M. Villamizar Chaparro, E. Wibbels, and P. Zabala.)

• How financial shock takes a toll on the U.S. Census

• Why talking about losing has made Donald Trump a winner

  It is Trump's “losing” language that could be the key to his success to date. My research shows that making people, and especially Republicans, think about losses motivates them to take political action.

• El Salvador is now one of the most violent countries in the world. Here’s what it’s like.

  In El Salvador, homicide rates are higher than in almost every other country in the world. Last year, more than 68,000 unaccompanied children crossed into the US, trying to escape violence Central America. Now, Mexican authorities and US border agents are attempting to stem the northward flow of people fleeing the violence.