Biography
Kerstin Hamann is an Associate Dean in the College of Sciences and Pegasus Professor in the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs (SPSIA) at the University of Central Florida, Orlando. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science, a Master’s in Political Science, and a Master’s in West European Studies (all from Washington University). She previously served as SPSIA Director (2011-2021). She twice served as Vice President of the American Political Science Association (APSA). Hamann was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the APSA Section on Political Science Education and served as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Political Science Education. She is a Fellow at the European Institute for International Law and International Relations.
Hamann is a recipient of the UCF Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award (campus-wide) and an Excellence in Professional Service Award (campus-wide), as well as Research Incentive Awards and university-wide Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Awards. She was a Fellow in the Teaching Academy (College of Education) and served as a Provost’s Senior Faculty Fellow and a Faculty Fellow to the Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning.
She has served on the governing bodies of several professional associations and has chaired and served on numerous APSA and SPSA committees. She serves on the editorial board of several academic journals.
Hamann’s research interests focus broadly on comparative politics, especially politics in Western Europe with a focus on organized labor and Spanish politics. Her recent research analyzes the political determinants of child marriage globally. She has also published extensively in the field of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, with a focus on online education, assessment, and most recently, on cognitive factors linked to student success in higher education. She has published numerous books, chapters, and journal articles.
Research Areas
Hamann’s research interests focus broadly on comparative politics, especially politics in Western Europe with a focus on organized labor and Spanish politics. Broadly, her research seeks to advance our understanding of the changing role of organized labor in Western Europe. Her recent research has analyzed the causes and consequences of union inclusion and exclusion in reforming policies in Western Europe; this research project considers the political determinants of including unions in policy reforms through social pacts as well as the consequence of union exclusion resulting in general strikes. Her books include The Politics of Industrial Relations: Labor Unions in Spain and Parties, Elections, and Policy Reforms in Western Europe: Voting for Social Pacts, with J. Kelly; and Democracy and Institutional Development: Spain in Comparative Theoretical Perspective, co-edited with B.N. Field. She has also published widely in academic journals such as Comparative Political Studies, Comparative Politics, Political Studies, West European Politics, Party Politics, British Journal of Industrial Relations, European Journal of Industrial Relations, and others.
Hamann has also published extensively in the field of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, with a focus on online education, assessment, and most recently, on cognitive factors linked to student success in higher education. This research program includes her book Assessment in Political Science, co-edited with M. Deardorff and J. Ishiyama, as well as numerous book chapters and articles in journals such as College Teaching, Journal of Political Science Education, Teaching in Higher Education, European Political Science, Education Sciences, Politics, and the International Journal of Research in Education and Sciences, among others.
