Penn State has experts in political science, communications and social sciences who can examine democracy from multiple angles, including the impact of misinformation and the erosion of trust in news media and other institutions. Our faculty have extensive experience speaking with the media on a variety of topics related to democracy and the factors that erode or make it stronger.
Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Film Production and Media Studies
Journalism & Media, Digital Media Technologies
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Associate Professor of Political Science and African American Studies
Civil Rights, Politics & Policy, Digital Media Technologies
Journalism & Media, Civil Rights, Education
Americans on both sides of the aisle say the U.S. is at risk of losing its democracy depending on who wins the 2024 presidential election, according to a recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. The erosion of trust in institutions, including the media, elections and rule of law, has contributed what Gallup found is a record-low percentage of U.S. adults who are satisfied with democracy.
Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Film Production and Media Studies,
Director, News Literacy Initiative
Contact Matthew Jordan with questions about: Misinformation, news literacy and what that means for democracy
Managing Director of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy
Contact Christopher Beem with questions about: The state of U.S. democracy and democratic virtues
Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences,
Director of the Center for Democratic Deliberation in Penn State's McCourtney Institute for Democracy
Contact Bradford Vivian with questions about: how holidays shape public memory; rhetoric and public memory; rhetoric and political theory.
Contact Joseph Wright with questions about: Dictatorships and the conditions that lead to rise and fall of autocratic regimes.
Contact Ray Block with questions about: racial and ethnic group politics, voting behavior, and public opinion.
Contact Boaz Dvir with questions about: storytelling and teaching difficult topics.
Penn State expertise spans far beyond those that we have currently featured on the site. Call us at 814-865-7517 or contact a member of the media relations staff
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