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About Jennifer
Jennifer Byrne is a Full Professor of Political Science at James Madison University, where she joined the Department of Political Science in 2007 as an Assistant Professor, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2013, and achieved Full Professor status in 2019. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Arizona (2007), with a specialization in American Politics and subfields in Identity Politics and Minority Politics; her dissertation analyzed how conceptions of national identity influence attitudes toward immigrants in the United States. She earned an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Georgia (2002), concentrating on law, courts, and the judicial system, along with a B.A. in Honors Interdisciplinary Studies and a B.A. in Global Studies (with a German minor), both from the University of Georgia (2002).
Dr. Byrne's research specializes in identity politics, examining national identity's role in shaping attitudes toward immigration, refugee durable solutions, and displacement effects on identity. Her recent work explores the intersection of political science and human-animal studies, including volunteer motivations for endangered species conservation and ethical animal treatment decisions. Publications appear in journals such as Social Sciences, Politics & Policy, and To Improve the Academy, with key works including "National Identity in an Emerging Gateway Region" (Social Sciences, 2018), "Just Not Like Us: The Interactive Impact of Dimensions of Identity and Race in Attitudes Towards Immigration" (Social Sciences, 2016, with Gregory C. Dixon), "Contextual Identity Among Liberian Refugees in Ghana: Identity Salience in a Protracted Refugee Situation" (Politics and Policy, 2016), and "Reevaluating American Attitudes Towards Immigrants in the 21st Century: The Role of Ethnocultural National Identity in a Multicreedal Framework" (Politics & Policy, 2013, with Gregory C. Dixon). She has presented at international conferences in India, Colombia, Mexico, Uganda, and South Africa. At JMU, she teaches American national government, U.S. immigration and refugee law, minority group politics, constitutional law and civil rights, and politics and film. Awards include the Department of Political Science Byrd Distinguished Professor Award (2021-2022), Provost Award for Research (2015-2016), and multiple Madison Collaborative Ethical Reasoning Research Grants. She served as Faculty Associate in Scholarship at the Center for Faculty Innovation (2014-2017).
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