(revised February, 2012)
Website: NappNazworth.com
Interests
American Politics, Congress, Political Parties and Interest Groups, Social Movements, American Political Development, Religion and Politics, Research Methods, the Presidency, Voting and Elections, State and Local Politics, Campaign Finance, Lobbying, Religious Freedom, Faith-based Initiatives, Taxes and Budgeting, Education, Energy and Environment.
Education
Ph.D. Political Science. University of Florida. Gainesville, FL. 1999 - 2006.
Dissertation: Institutionalization of the Christian Right.
Summary: I sought to understand what has happened to the Christian Right as it has become institutionalized. The Christian Right is a social movement that began in the late 1970s. It convinced many Christian conservatives across the country to become more involved in the political system. I did this research by interviewing and observing groups that represent the Christian Right, such as Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, and Christian Coalition. Such a study will help us better understand how social movements institutionalize and how institutionalization changes them. I argue that by maintaining a dual insider/outsider status, Christian Right organizations have been able to overcome some of the weaknesses of institutionalization, such as losing sight of their original goals, and more effectively maintain the participation of their members. Additionally, social movement theories proved more effective at explaining the behavior of these groups than interest group and institutionalization theories.
Dissertation Committee:
Chair: Kenneth D. Wald, Professor, Political Science Department.
Lawrence C. Dodd, Professor, Political Science Department.
David M. Hedge, Professor, Political Science Department.
Phillip J. Williams, Professor, Political Science Department.
David Hackett, Professor, Religion Department.
M.A. Political Science. University of Central Florida. Orlando, FL. 1997 - 1999.
Master’s Thesis: “The Effects of Dispensational Premillennialism on Support for Israel and Christian-Jewish Relations in the United States.”
B.A. Political Science, Math Minor. University of Florida. Gainesville, FL. 1988 - 1994.
Honors and Awards
Best Graduate Student Paper. Department of Political Science. University of Florida. 2000.
Alumni Fellow. University of Florida. 1999 - 2003.
Conference Papers and Presentations
“Change and Complexity in the Christian Right.” To be presented at the American Political Science Association Annual Conference, Toronto, ON, Canada. September 3-6, 2009.
“The Changing Religiosity of the Democratic Party.” Presented at the Symposium on Religion and Politics, Grand Rapids, MI. April 23-25, 2009.
“Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and the Christian Right.” Presented at the American Political Science Association Annual Conference, Boston, MA. August 28-31, 2008.
“Donkeys Finding Religion: How the Christian Right Influenced the Democratic Party.” Presented at the American Political Science Association Annual Conference, Boston, MA. August 28-31, 2008.
“Heroes of the Christian Right.” Presented at the Southern Political Science Association Convention, New Orleans, LA. January 9-12, 2008.
“Social Movement Change: the Fate of the Christian Right.” Presented at the American Political Science Association Annual Conference, Washington, DC. September 1-4, 2005.
“The Institutionalization of Christian Right Interest Groups.” Presented at the Southwestern Political Science Association Annual Meeting. New Orleans, LA. March 23-26, 2005.
“A Sociocultural Evolution Model of Political Movements: The Case of the Religious Right.” Presented at the Symposium on Religion and Politics, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI, May 3-4, 2002.
“Social Network Analysis for Political Scientists.” Presented at the Graduate Student Symposium, Political Science Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, February 22, 2002.
“Religious Interest Group Representation: Democratic or Oligarchic?” Presented at the Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting. Atlanta, Georgia. November 7-10, 2001.
“Committee Change in Congress: 1974 - 1995.” (With Jacob Strauss.) Presented at the Florida Political Science Association Annual Meeting. Jacksonville, Florida. March 23 - 24, 2001.
“U.S. Interest Group Perspectives on Religion, Ideology and Support for the State of Israel.” (With Terri Susan Fine.) Presented at the American Political Science Association Annual Conference. Atlanta, Georgia. September, 2 - 5, 1999.
“An Examination of the U.S. Senate Vote on the 1997 Partial Birth Abortion Ban.” (With Terri Susan Fine.) Presented at the Florida Political Science Association Annual Meeting. Sarasota, Florida. April 9, 1999.
“Learning Communities and the Academic Career: Perspectives on Faculty Participation.” (With Terri Susan Fine.) Presented at the "Creating and Sustaining Learning Communities: Connections, Collaboration, and Crossing Borders" Conference. University of South Florida, Tampa, FL. March 10-March 13, 1999. Available on-line at: <http://horizon.unc.edu/conferences/lc/papers/16.html>
Other Publications
"Is Our Government Broken?." Capital Commentary. The Center for Public Justice. October 21, 2011.
"Principled Pragmatism." Capital Commentary. The Center for Public Justice. July 8, 2011.
“Ending filibuster good for both parties.” The Columbus Dispatch. May 22, 2010.
“Speaking Out: Reworking the First Amendment?” The Gainesville Sun. July 6, 2002.
Work Experience
Reporter. The Christian Post, Washington, D.C. June 2011 -- Present.
Visiting Assistant Professor. Marietta College, Marietta, Ohio. Fall 2009—Spring 2010.
Lecturer. University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia. Fall 2008—Spring 2009. Taught American Political Parties, Electoral Behavior, Religion and Politics, and Legislative Politics.
AP Government Instructor. Junior Statesmen Foundation. Princeton University, Princeton, NJ. June—July 2008.
Assistant Professor. Charleston Southern University, Charleston, South Carolina. Fall 2007—Spring 2008. Taught American Government, State and Local Government, Congress, Parties and Interest Groups, Research Methods, Religion and Politics, and an independent study in Public Policy.
Visiting Professor of Political Science. Texas A&M University—Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, Texas. Fall 2005—Summer 2007. Taught American Government, Religion and Politics, Legislative Process, State and Local Politics, The Constitution and Federalism, The Presidency and Parties and Interest Groups.
Lecturer in Political Science. Trinity Valley Community College, Athens, Texas. Summer 2005. Taught two sections of American and Texas Constitutions and three sections of American and Texas Government.
Lecturer in Political Science. University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, Texas. Fall 2004—Spring 2005. Taught two sections of Congress and Legislation and American Government in the Fall. Taught American Government, Religion and Politics and a graduate level Research Methods class in the Spring.
Teaching Assistant. University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. Fall 2000—Spring 2002. Taught American Government for a class of 50 students. Responsible for all the aspects of conducting the class, including, lecturing, assigning the texts, keeping office hours, and assigning grades. Teaching Assistant for a 300 student State and Local Government class. Lectured, conducted test review sessions, proctored exams, chaperoned a field trip to the state capital, and responsible for all grading. Teaching Assistant for a 300 student American Government class. Lectured, conducted test review sessions, proctored exams, and responsible for all grading. Led two American Government discussion groups of 30 students that met for one class period each week. Responsible for 20% of the students final grade.
Teaching Assistant. University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida. Spring 1999. Teaching Assistant for 100 student American Government class. Lectured, graded papers, met with students, and led a 50 student discussion group.
Consultant. University Writing Center. University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida. Spring, Summer 1999. Held personal consultation sessions with clients to improve their writing skills.
Youth Worker. Covenant House Texas, Houston, Texas. October 1994 - October 1995. Coordinated activities for disadvantaged youth. Assisted teaching in state-certified classroom.
Media Interviews
Moxley, Cathleen. “A Nobel Peace Sur-Prize.” WTAP, Parkersburg, WV. October 9, 2009.
York, Kate. “Valley residents surprised, puzzled by peace prize selection.” The Marietta Times. October 10, 2009.
O’Neil, Carey. “Market growth slow to change: Stimulus may not be enough.” The Red & Black. February 5, 2009.
Featherstone, Mary. “Northern Virginia population boom, economy pave the way for Obama presidency.” Fauquier Times-Democrat. December 23, 2008.
Jonsson, Patrik. “Georgia’s US Senate runoff has broader political importance: The post-election vote could tighten Democrats’ grip on Capitol Hill while giving GOP stars a chance to shine.” The Christian Science Monitor. November 19, 2008.
Anderson, JoAnn. “Historic Obama win no surprise for University community: Effective campaign pushed Obama to victory.” The Red & Black. November 5, 2008.
Surgosa, Miloslava. “Demokrati volia v Meste hriechu.” Pravda. January 19, 2008.
Smith, Patrice. “Do Celebrity Endorsements Work?” ABC News 4, Charleston, SC. December 10, 2007.
Batstone, David and Mark Wexler. “The Right Stuff.” Sojourners Magazine. July 2004 (Vol. 33, No. 7, pp. 18-24). Available online:
Other Professional Activities
Grader. College Board’s AP Govt & Politics US Reading. Daytona Beach, FL. June 2008, 2010, 2011.
Participant. “Creating an Active Learning Environment: Strategies and Tactics for Engaging Students in the Study of American Politics.” Sponsored by the Center of Political Participation and Pearson Prentice Hall. San Antonio, TX. Oct. 26, 2006.
Grader. College Board’s AP Govt & Politics US Reading. Fort Collins, CO. June 2006.
Grader. College Board’s AP Govt & Politics US Reading. Fort Collins, CO. June 2004.
Participant. Henry Institute Workshop: “Pollsters and Parishioners.” Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI. July, 2003. Studied Religion and American Politics with Professors Corwin Smidt, Jim Guth and Lyman Kellstedt.
Participant. ICPSR Summer Program in Quantitative Methods. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. Summer 2001. Studied Maximum Likelihood Estimation with Professor Charles Franklin and Bayesian Methods with Professor Jeff Gill.
Departmental Service
Event Judge. National History Day in South Carolina, Region 1. Charleston, SC, April 5, 2008.
Moderator. Celebrating the Constitution, Charleston Southern University, Charleston, SC, September 17, 2007.
Graduate Handbook Writer. Department of Social Sciences, University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, Texas. Fall 2004.
Graduate Liaison for American Politics Field. Department of Political Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Spring 2001 - Spring 2002.
Intramural Basketball Commissioner. Department of Political Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Spring 2002.
Memberships
American Political Science Association
Section memberships: Political Organizations and Parties, Legislative Studies, Religion and Politics
Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
Religious Research Association
Computer Software
SPSS, R, WinBUGS, AMELIA, STATA, UCINET, WebCT, Blackboard