Penn State Penn State: College of the Liberal Arts

Michael Berkman

Michael Berkman

Michael Berkman

Director, McCourtney Institute for Democracy and
Professor of Political Science
318 Pond Lab University Park, PA 16802
(814) 863-6120
Wednesdays 2:30-3:30
Michael Berkman

Curriculum Vitae

Professional Bio

Michael Berkman (Ph.D., Indiana University ‘89) is a professor in the Department of Political Science and the director of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy, where he also co-hosts the Democracy Works podcast. Berkman’s research on American state politics and public policy has been published in journals such as the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, and State Politics and Policy Quarterly. He has written three books; his most recent, Evolution, Creationism, and the Battle for Control of America’s Classrooms (with Eric Plutzer, Cambridge University Press), won the 2012 Don K. Price Award for the best book on Science, Technology, and Politics from the Science, Technology, and Environmental Politics Section of the American Political Science Association. Professor Berkman directs the minor in Business and the Liberal Arts along with the honors program in Political Science, where he has also served as Director of Undergraduate Studies.

Areas of Interest

  • American Politics
  • State Politics
  • Participation, Voting, and Public Opinion