Evelyn Simien

Professor of Political Science, Associated with WGSS and American Studies

Evelyn M. Simien is Professor of Political Science, and the Office for Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) Faculty Fellow for the 2022-23 academic year. She is also affiliated with the following academic programs: Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies, and American Studies. Her first book, Black Feminist Voices in Politics (SUNY Press, 2006), examined black feminist consciousness and its effect on political behavior using national survey data. Her second book, Gender and Lynching: the Politics of Memory (Palgrave/Macmillan, 2011), focused on African American women who suffered racial-sexual violence at the hands of lynch mobs in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Her third book, Historic Firsts: How Symbolic Empowerment Changes U.S. Politics (Oxford University Press, 2015), considers whether candidates like Shirley Chisholm in 1972 and Jesse Jackson in 1984 as well as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in 2008 mobilize voters through emotional appeals while combating stereotypes and providing more inclusive representation. Her fourth book, Historic Firsts in U.S. Elections (Routledge, 2022), extends her theory of symbolic empowerment to the Trump era and focuses on barrier-breaking gubernatorial, congressional, and mayoral campaigns. A nationally recognized teacher, Professor Simien was awarded the 2006 Anna Julia Cooper Teacher of the Year Award from the National Conference of Black Political Scientists, and the 2007 Teaching Promise Award from the American Association of University Professors. She was also recognized as the 2017 Faculty Member of the Year by the UConn chapter of the NAACP. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate classes—for example, African American Politics, Black Feminist Theory and Politics, Black Leadership and Civil Rights, as well as Race, Gender, and Ethnic Politics.