Rate My Professor Heather Pincock

Heather Pincock is an Associate Professor of Conflict Management at Kennesaw State University, affiliated with both the School of Government and International Affairs and the School of Conflict Management, Peacebuilding and Development within the Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences. She earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in 2011, with a dissertation titled "Does Deliberation Make Better Citizens? Examining the Case of Community Conflict Mediation," advised by Keith J. Bybee. During her doctoral studies, Pincock was a doctoral fellow at Harvard Law School's Program on Negotiation in 2008-2009 and an associate of Syracuse's Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration (PARCC), where she coordinated the Conflict Management Center. She has practical experience as a mediator, facilitator, and trainer, including volunteer mediation at New Justice Conflict Resolution Services in Syracuse, New York, and facilitating non-violence workshops through the Alternatives to Violence Program in New York State prisons.

Pincock's research examines theories of democracy and citizenship, focusing on how citizens and the state manage everyday conflicts democratically, reinforcing or challenging values of autonomy, equality, and community. Her expertise spans democratic theory, public deliberation, participatory democracy, citizenship, democratic civic capacities, rights of citizenship, political polarization, and civic bonds. Key publications include "Can democratic states justify restricting the rights of persons with mental illness? Presumption of competence, voting, and gun rights" in Politics, Groups, and Identities (2018); "Where the Rubber Meets the Clouds: Anticipated Developments in Conflict and Conflict Resolution Theory," co-authored with Timothy Hedeen, in Ohio State Journal of Dispute Resolution (2016); "Does mediation make us better? Exploring the capacity building potential of community mediation" in Conflict Resolution Quarterly (2013); and the chapter "Does Deliberation Make Better Citizens?" in Democracy in Motion: Evaluating the Practice and Impact of Deliberative Civic Engagement, edited by Tina Nabatchi et al., Oxford University Press (2012). She teaches courses including American Government, Political Ideologies, Canada and North America, Senior Seminar, and Alternative Dispute Resolution. Pincock has given public lectures, such as one exploring political differences between the United States and Canada in 2024, and chairs a faculty council in the Radow College. In 2024, she received recognition from the Radow College for outstanding contributions.