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Kay Hales

Education:
BA Political Science and History, Louisiana Tech University, 2020

MA Political Science, University of Kentucky, 2023
Biography:

I am a fourth-year PhD Candidate in the Department of Political Science. My research focuses on identity politics, political psychology and behavior, and political sociology. Specifically, I am interested in the experiential, cognitive, and affective components of intra-group dynamics.

My dissertation specifically investigates LGBTQ people's sense of linked fate as a way to broaden our understanding of this concept and expand its theoretical framework.  I use a combination of survey, phenomenological, and psychometric techniques to explore (1) how LGBTQ people experience a sense of linked fate, (2) the experiential and affective mechanisms driving LGBTQ people's sense of linked fate, and (3) develop a novel, multidimensional measure to assess LGBTQ people's sense of linked fate. 

In addition to my dissertation, my other current projects investigate how constituent-level identity (including White identity) shapes state and local elites' legislative behavior, and 'manosphere' socialization.

Research Interests:
Political psychology
Identity Politics
Gender and Sexuality
Political behavior
Political Sociology
Teaching

I have been the primary instructor for the following courses: 

  • PS391 - Behavior, Identity, and Bias (Spring 2024)
  • PS210 - Intro to Comparative Politics (Fall 2023)
  • PS390 - Film in Politics (Summer 2022)
  • PS101 - Intro to American Politics (Spring 2022)

In addition, I have been a teaching assistant for the following courses: 

  • PS210 - Intro to Comparative Poltiics 
  • PS101 - Intro to American Politics 
  • PS437G - Dynamics of International Law 
  • PS391 - Political Institutions (x2)
  • PS410 - European Union