Dr. Rachel Spooner
Assistant Professor of Political ScienceDr. Rachel Spooner亚洲色吧檚 research focuses on decision making in federal appellate courts, with particular emphasis on the collegial and institutional features that constrain and influence the behavior of Supreme Court justices. She is especially interested in the development of legal rules through the Supreme Court's collegial opinion writing process. Dr. Spooner亚洲色吧檚 work has been published in journals including Political Research Quarterly, Party Politics and Political Science Quarterly.
She regularly teaches classes on American politics and research methods, focusing on political institutions and behavior. Her courses focus on the social scientific study of political behavior among political elites (e.g., Supreme Court justices, members of Congress and the president) and among the mass public (e.g., public opinion and voting behavior).
Dr. Spooner joined the Hope College faculty in 2018. She was previously an assistant professor at Hunter College of the City University of New York (2014亚洲色吧2016) and Michigan State University (2016亚洲色吧2018).
Areas of expertise
- American politics and political institutions
- Research methods
- Judicial decision-making
- Constitutional law
Education
- Ph.D., political science, Michigan State University, 2015
- M.A., political science, Michigan State University, 2011
- B.A., political science, English, Hope College, 2006
Honors, Grants and awards
- Nyenhuis Student-Faculty Collaborative Summer Research Grant, 2019, 2022, 2023
- Continuum Scholars Faculty Development Grant, 2021
- Hunter College Undergraduate Research Initiative Fellowship, 2016
- Hunter College Faculty Innovations in Teaching with Technology Grant, 2015
- Excellence in Teaching Citation, Michigan State University, 2014
- Best Paper Award, Michigan State University, 2014
- 亚洲色吧淪haping the Content of Majority Opinions on the U.S. Supreme Court,亚洲色吧 National Science Foundation doctoral dissertation research grant (SES-1228458), 2012亚洲色吧2013
Selected publications
- Review of 亚洲色吧淧ersuading the Supreme Court: The Significance of Briefs in Judicial Decision-Making by Morgan Hazelton and Rachael Hinkle,亚洲色吧 Political Science Quarterly, 2023
- 亚洲色吧淛udicial Discretion and US Supreme Court Agenda Setting,亚洲色吧 with E. Lane, J. Schoenherr, and R. Black in Open Judicial Politics, 2020
- 亚洲色吧淭hings Unspoken: Forbidden Discourse and Credible Signals in the Shadow of Power,亚洲色吧 with B. Yoder and K. Taylor Gaubatz, Political Science Quarterly, 2019
- 亚洲色吧淓lite-Level Issue Dynamics: Assessing Perspectives on Party Issue Change,亚洲色吧 with D. Lee, Party Politics, 2015
- 亚洲色吧淭rying to Get What You Want: Heresthetical Maneuvering and U.S. Supreme Court Decision Making,亚洲色吧 with R. Black and T. Johnson, Political Research Quarterly, 2013
Outside the college
When she亚洲色吧檚 not teaching or working on her research, you can probably find Dr. Spooner on an adventure with her beloved husband, daughters and dog. She loves to hike, ski and ride dirt bikes (hers is, quite appropriately, orange and navy).
616.395.6897
spooner@hope.eduLubbers Hall Room 208 126 East 10th Street Holland, MI 49423