Political Science Faculty

Melissa K. Miller

Biography

Dr. Melissa Miller is an expert on American politics with a specific focus on elections and voting behavior, women in American politics, public opinion, and the media. She teaches courses in American Government, Political Parties, Voter Behavior, Women in American Politics, and Research Methods.

Dr. Miller is frequently interviewed by local, regional, national, and international media. She has appeared in/on CNN, ABC News, Fox News, Al Jazeera, The New York Times, The Guardian,  and The New York Review of Books, among others.

Dr. Miller’s research on American politics appears in Public Opinion Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, Politics & Gender, and PS: Political Science and Politics, among others.

Her projects on the Convention for the Elimination of All Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and press coverage of the 2008 presidential election involve collaboration with BGSU undergraduate and graduate students – many of whom have gone on to pursue master’s degrees, PhD’s, and law degrees.

Dr. Miller holds an A.B. from Cornell University, where she majored in Government; a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University, where her concentration was Press, Politics & Public Policy; and a PhD in Political Science from Northwestern University.

Fields of Study

• American Politics
• Elections & Voting Behavior
• Gender & Politics
• Media & Politics
• Political Behavior

Education

• A.B., Cornell University (Government)
• M.P.P., Harvard University (Press, Politics & Public Policy)
• Ph.D., Northwestern University (Political Science)

Selected Publications

• Melissa K. Miller, Jeffrey S. Peake, and Brittany Anne Boulton. “Testing the Saturday Night Live Hypothesis: Newspaper Coverage of Hillary Clinton’s 2008 Presidential Campaign,” Politics & Gender, Vol. 6, (June 2010): 169-98.
• Melissa K. Miller. “Membership Has Its Privileges: How Voluntary Groups Exacerbate the Participatory Bias,” Political Research Quarterly, Vol. 63 (June 2010): 356-72.
• Melissa K. Miller and Shannon K. Orr. “Experimenting With a ‘Third Way’ in Political Knowledge Estimation,” Public Opinion Quarterly, Vol. 72 (Winter 2008): 768-80.

Grants

•  Research Grant (extramural)
  American Political Science Association
  Co-Principal Investigator with Jeffrey Peake
  Project: “Overt Message / Covert Meaning: Race and Gender in Press Coverage of the 2008 Presidential Campaign”
  
• Research Grant (extramural)
  Center for Research Libraries
  Co-Principal Investigator with Jeffrey Peake
  Project: “Press Coverage of the 2008 General Election”
  
• Research Grant (extramural)
  Center for Research Libraries
  Co-Principal Investigator with Jeffrey Peake
  Project: “Press Coverage of the 2008 Presidential Primaries”
  
• Research Grant (intramural)
  MacArthur Fund
  Northwestern University
  Project: “The Joiners: Voluntary Organizations and Political Participation in the United States”

Presentations

Media Interviews:

• CNN
• ABC News
• Fox News
• Al Jazeera
• The Guardian
• The New York Times
• New York Review of Books
• American Journalism Review
• Associated Press
• Wisconsin Public Radio
• Ohio Public Television

Invited Talks

• September 2012. “As Go Women, So Goes the Election: The Women’s Vote in November.” BGSU Women’s Center, Brown Bag Series (Bowling Green, Ohio).
• June 2011. “Rookie v. Rock Star: Newspaper Coverage of Sarah Palin’s Vice Presidential Campaign.” Chapter AG, P.E.O. (Toledo, Ohio).
• January 2011. “Rookie or Rock Star? Newspaper Coverage of Sarah Palin’s Vice Presidential Campaign.” BGSU Women’s Center, Women’s Research Network (Bowling Green, Ohio).
• May 2010. “In the Tank for Obama? Press Bias and the 2008 Presidential Election.” Way Public Library, Tuesday Topics Series (Perrysburg, Ohio).
• April 2010. “Masculinity on the Campaign Trail: Hillary Clinton’s Double Bind.” Joint Meeting of the Bowling Green State University / University of Toledo Retirees Associations (Bowling Green, Ohio).
• May 2008. “Testing the Saturday Night Live Hypothesis: Preliminary Findings on Hillary Clinton’s Press Coverage.” Way Public Library, Tuesday Topics Series (Perrysburg, Ohio).
• April 2008. “Testing the Saturday Night Live Hypothesis: Preliminary Findings on Hillary Clinton’s Press Coverage.” Arts & Sciences Forum, BGSU (Bowling Green, Ohio)
• June 2006. “What Women Know: The Gender Gap in Political Knowledge.” League of Women Voters (Bowling Green, Ohio).

Projects

• An empirical study of the legal and institutional factors promoting improvements in women’s rights among countries that have ratified the United Nations’ CEDAW Treaty (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women). With Dr. Neil Englehart (BGSU).
• A quantitative-qualitative study of newspaper coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign and its effects on public opinion during both the primary and general election seasons. With Jeffrey S. Peake (Clemson).

Courses Taught

• Political Parties & Voter Behavior
• Women in American Politics
• Public Administration and Public Policy
• Research Methods
• Introduction to Political Inquiry
• American Government: Processes and Structure