Suzanne Chod, Ph.D.

smchod@noctrl.edu


Full Professor

North Central College

Year of PhD: 2007

Phone: 6306376245

Address: 30 N Brainard St

City: Naperville, Illinois - 60540

Country: United States

About Me:

I am a Professor of Political Science and Coordinator of the Gender and Sexuality Studies program at North Central College in Naperville, IL. My current research focus on the civic engagement and empowerment of college students and the value of political scientists as public intellectuals as a means to provide objective and research-based analysis to help the broader community make sense of the world around them. My other research and teaching interests include women in American politics, Congress, campaigns and elections, and polarization. 

Research Interests

Legislative Politics

American Presidency And Executive Politics

Gender and Politics

Political Participation

Civic Engagement

Women In Politics

Congressional Elections

Partisanship And Polarization

Countries of Interest

United States

Publications:

Journal Articles:

(2020) Political Science, Public Intellectualism, and Podcasting, PS Political Science & Politics

In the current political climate, it is more important than ever for political scientists to embrace the role of public intellectual and find venues to share our disciplinary knowledge and expertise. There is tremendous potential in podcasting as a medium for political scientists to provide evidence-based and theoretically grounded analysis to a broader non-academic audience. In particular, political scientists are able to take the empirical and theoretical knowledge that our field has generated and use it to help make sense of day-to-day political developments. This is, in essence, the exact thing we do as teachers in the classroom. We take complex research and make it accessible to our students. Podcasting simply expands our reach to a wider audience.

(2015) “Using Twitter to Increase Political Interest in Undergraduate Students.”, The Journal of Political Science Education

This study examines the impact of using Twitter in the classroom on student political efficacy, interest and engagement. Millennials use the virtual world to build social relationships and to obtain information. By envisioning the virtual world as a means to increase civic engagement, political science instructors can use technology to draw upon social networking, iterated interaction, and information sharing. Because taking political science and civics courses can boost civic engagement, students who are drawn to political science courses are more likely to already be interested in politics and have increased knowledge. Therefore, what we demonstrate is that while Twitter in and of itself does not independently foster civic engagement, employing it as a pedagogical tool taps into and strengthens the predispositions of students in political science classes, namely political interest and efficacy. Our results contribute to a fresh and much needed discussion in political science literature about ways to increase civic engagement of Millennials.

Books Written:

(2015) Technology and Civic Engagement in the College Classroom: Engaging the Unengaged, Palgrave Macmillan

Technology and Civic Engagement in the College Classroom: Engaging the Unengaged explores the intersection of the traditional classroom with the broad array of online technologies available to faculty and students. This edited volume provides theoretical and pedagogical justifications for both in-class and online means Political Science instructors have developed and tested to engage an increasingly disengaged college student population. The approaches and technologies examined are innovative and varied, but a common connection between all of the offerings is the question of how and in what specific ways the incorporation of technology into the college classroom can foster student civic engagement.

Book Chapters:

(2021) Can We Get an Upgrade?: How Two College Campuses Are Building the Democracy We Aspire to Be”, American Political Science Association

The chapter addresses how a small private liberal arts college in a major metropolitan area and a large comprehensive university in a rural area of the United States advance and assess civic learning and engagement initiatives in a time when democracy is being threatened. Although the approaches differ, common themes and aspirations emerged that could prove instructive. Both institutions commit to reaching all students rather than focusing narrowly on political science majors, recognize civic learning as a public good central to a healthy, functioning, and equitable society, and contend that civic engagement initiatives must embrace politics and pressing public issues regardless of the real or perceived fears their institutions may have of retribution. The authors argue that civic education initiatives should be continually assessed, leverage partnerships across campuses and in the community and aim to create a more inclusive democracy, as opposed to reinforcing privilege

(2015) Social Networking as a Pedagogical Tool: Effect of Twitter Use on Interest and Efficacy in Introductory-Level American Government Courses, Palgrave Macmillan

This chapter features the results of an experimental design exploring the relationship between Twitter use throughout an introductory American Government course and changes in attitudes about government and politics during the semester. Specifically, we use a pretest-stimulus-posttest design to capture changes in reported levels of political efficacy and interest in politics. Participants were students at a Midwestern community college enrolled in the introductory course, where approximately half were in sections that required Twitter to be used, while others were in sections where Twitter was neither required nor encouraged. Our analysis reveals the potential that social networking has for generating political interest and efficacy when used in a pedagogically grounded way. Specifically, we discuss the “value added” nature of combining Twitter use with traditional course content.

Media Appearances:

TV Appearances:

(2023) WGN News

I have been a regular contributor on the WGN Evening News broadcasts since 2019.

(2023) ABC7 Chicago

I have been a regular contributor on ABC7 Chicago afternoon and evening broadcasts since 2020.

(2023) CBS and CBS Stream

I have been a regular contributor on CBS 2 Chicago and CBS Stream since 2022.

(2023) FOX32 Chicago

I have been a regular contributor on FOX 32 Chicago afternoon and evening broadcasts since 2022.

Radio Appearances:

(2023) WCPT820

I am a regular guest on Joan Esposito's radio show on WCPT820 radio.

(2018) Minnesota Public Radio

I discussed the deep partisan divide in the United States with Kerri Miller on her show on Minnesota Public Radio.

Newspaper Quotes:

(2020) The New York Times

I was quoted in the article "A Brokered Convention? Here’s What’s Happened Before" by Maria Cramer 2/27/20.

Other:

(2020) The Politics Lab Podcast

I am a regular guest on The Politics Lab podcast, hosted by political scientists Dr. Phil Barker and Dr. Bill Muck