HELLO, I'M
Isabel Williams
MA. PhD. Candidate
Isabel Williams
MA. PhD. Candidate
School of Government
and Public Policy
The University of Arizona
About Me
I am a doctoral candidate at the University of Arizona School of Government & Public Policy. I use surveys and experiments to understand public opinion and political attitudes, specifically related to the topics of identity, immigration, and refugee policy. My dissertation addresses how security framing and stereotypes of refugees impact support for restrictive refugee policies and employs unique samples from American partisans, Muslim Americans, and resettled refugees. Beyond research and teaching, I am a nerd about travel, the great outdoors, plants and animals, and art of all kinds.
Curriculum Vitae
EDUCATION:
PhD. Expected 2022 University of Arizona, School of Government and Public Policy
Dissertation: “How Elite Frames Shape Attitudes Towards Refugee Restrictions:
Exploration Across Three American Sub-populations” Chair: Dr. Samara Klar
M.A. 2019 University of Arizona, School of Government and Public Policy
Degree: Government and Public Policy
B.A. 2015 College of Charleston, Political Science, Magna Cum Laude
AREAS OF INTEREST:
Political Psychology Stereotypes, Stigma, & Political Affect
Political Sociology Elite Rhetoric & Civil Discourse
American Politics Refugee Resettlement in Western Nations
U.S. Immigration Policy U.S. Labor Sociology and Law
Race and Ethnicity Politics U.S. State Legislature Innovation
PUBLISHED SCHOLARLY WORK:
SELECT WORKING PAPERS:
Isabel Williams, Timothy Gravelle, and Klar, Samara. “Does Motivated Reasoning Cross Borders? Ideology, Neighboring-Country Behavior, and Support for COVID-Related Border Restrictions in the United States and Canada” Revise and Resubmit
Isabel Williams. “How Stereotypes of Refugees Shape Attitudes Toward Refugee Restrictions: A Study of Christian and Muslim Americans” Revise and Resubmit
Isabel Williams. “How Security Frames Create Disagreement in Public Opinion:
Evidence from US Refugee Policy” Under Review
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Isabel Williams, Frank Gonzalez, “Engage or Look Away? Migrant Stereotypes and Attitudes toward Immigration Policies and Procedures.” In design at The Psychology of Inequality and Politics (PIP) Lab
FUNDING & GRANTS:
University of Arizona, Graduate and Professional Student Council, Travel Grant, 2021 ($540)
American Political Science Association Travel Grant, July 2021
American Association for Public Opinion Research Student Conference Award, May 2021
University of Arizona Graduate and Professional Student Council, Research and Project Grant, November 2020 ($1200)
University of Arizona Graduate and Professional Student Council, Research and Project Grant, September 2019 ($1500)
University of Arizona School of Government & Public Policy, Graduate Student Travel Grant, 2019 ($750)
Social and Behavior Sciences Research Institute, Pre-Doctoral Research Grant, 2019 ($500)
International Society for Political Psychology, Early Career Scholars Travel Grant ($500)
University of Arizona School of Government and Public Policy, Starns Fellowship for International Travel ($500)
University of Arizona School of Government and Public Policy, Competitive Summer Workshops Funding ($2000)
Point Foundation Scholarship for LGBT student service leadership, 2019 (Semi-Finalist)
University of Arizona School of Government & Public Policy, Graduate Student Travel Grant, 2019 ($500)
University of Arizona School of Government & Public Policy, Summer Research Fellow, 2019 ($2,700)
University of Arizona, Graduate and Professional Student Council Travel Grant, 2018 ($750)
University of Arizona School of Government & Public Policy, Graduate Student Travel Grant, 2018 ($500)
University of Arizona School of Government & Public Policy, Summer Research Fellow, 2018 ($1,900)
INVITED TALKS
“State-Level Immigration Policy,” State and Local Governments and Politics, Butler University
CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS:
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“Refugee Policy Experience and Attitudes,” American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, September 28th- October 3rd
“Does Motivated Reasoning Cross Borders? Explaining Support for COVID-Related Border Restrictions in the United States and Canada,” International Society of Political Psychology Annual Scientific Meeting, Held virtually, July 13th, 2021
“Refugee Policy Experience and Attitudes,” International Society of Political Psychology Annual Scientific Meeting, Held virtually, July 12th, 2021
“Does Motivated Reasoning Cross Borders? Ideology, Neighboring-Country Behavior, and Support for COVID-Related Border Restrictions in the United States and Canada,” American Association for Public Opinion Research Meeting, Held virtually, May 11th-14th, 2021
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“How Elite Rhetoric Shapes Attitudes Towards Refugee Restrictions: A Study of Christian and Muslim Americans”, Chicago Area Political and Social Behavior Workshop, Held virtually, May 7th, 2021, poster presentation
“Refugee Politics Identity and Attitudes,” American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Held virtually, September 9th-13th, 2020
“Toddlers or Terrorists? Framing Trumpian Refugee Restrictions,” International Society of Political Psychology Annual Scientific Meeting, Held virtually, July 14-16th, 2020
“The Price of Hate in the State: Measuring the Economic Impact of Anti-Transgender Policies,” Women in Data Science (WiDS), Tucson, AZ, April 17th, 2020
“Leave it to the Pros? State Legislative Professionalism and Immigration Policy,” American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, August 28th-September 1st 2019
“Security or Humanity: Framing Trumpian Refugee Restrictions," International Society of Political Psychology Annual Scientific Meeting, Lisbon, Portugal, July 12-15th, 2019
“Security or Humanity: Framing Trumpian Refugee Restrictions," Western Political Science Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, April 18-20th 2019
“Leave it to the Pros? State Legislative Professionalism and Immigration Policy,” Women in Data Science (WiDS), Tucson, AZ, April 5th 2019
“A Muslim Ban by Any Other Name: Framing Trumpian Refugee Restrictions," Saguaro Student Symposium, Tucson, AZ, February 2018
“Histories of Exception: Labor Rights and the Construction of Citizenship," William V. Moore Student Research Conference, College of Charleston, April 2015
“Histories of Exception: Labor Rights and the Construction of Citizenship," South Carolina Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Francis Marion University, February 2015
MEDIA:
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Quoted in: Brown, Nathan. (September 24th, 2021) “GOP Senate hopefuls against Afghan resettlement.” Arizona Capitol Times. https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2021/09/24/gop-senate-hopefuls-against-afghan-resettlement/
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Quoted in: Brown, Nathan. (May 14th, 2021).“’Dreamers’ ready in quest for in-state tuition” Arizona Capital Times. https://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2021/05/14/dreamers-ready-in-quest-for-in-state-tuition/
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TEACHING:
Instructor of Record:
LAS POL 388 Immigration and Refugee Politics
Online, Summer II 2021, July 6th-August 20th, 2021
Online, Fall II 2020, October 15th-December 9th, 2020
POL 201 American National Government
Online, Fall II 2021, October 14th-December 8th, 2021 in progress
Online, Spring I 2021, January 13th-March 8th, 2021
Online, Summer I 2020, May18th-July3rd, 2020
Online, Spring II, March 16th-May 8th, 2020
GRADUATE STUDENT WORKER & RESEARCH EXPERIENCE:
Course Development Assistant to Dr. Alex Braithwaite, Summer/Fall 2020
Duties: organize and create course materials, film original lectures and create original podcast recordings, coordinate with guest speakers and the Office of Digital Learning course designers for the online re-development of the LAS POL 388 Immigration and Refugee Politics upper-level undergraduate course
Course Development Assistant to Dr. Chris Weber, Fall 2019
Duties: organize and create course materials and coordinate with faculty lecturers and the Office of Digital Learning course designers and studio personnel for the online re-development of the POL 201 American Federal Government core undergraduate course
Lab Manager, School of Government and Public Policy Research Center, 2018-2019 school year
Duties: maintaining student subject pool, administering faculty research, working with faculty to promote use of the lab by researchers and students for extra credit opportunities
Graduate Research Assistant to Dr. Lisa Sanchez 2017-2018 academic year
Duties: data coding and transcription, co-author of Western Political Science Association conference paper “Explaining the Passage of Beneficial Immigration Policies in the U.S. States 2005-2012”
DEPARTMENTAL SERVICE:
President, School of Government and Public Policy Graduate Student Association, elected 2020-2021 school year
Duties: reach out to fellow PhD students about needs and ideas to combat social isolation, serve as an advocate, fielded survey of colleagues Fall 2020 and presented findings to SGPP leadership, attend SGPP Faculty meetings, stay current on issues affecting graduate students
Outreach Coordinator, School of Government and Public Policy Graduate Student Association, elected 2018-2019 school year
Duties: event preparation for SGPP PhD Recruitment Weekend, February 14th-16th, 2019, including arranging airport pickups, rides, and lodging with current graduate students for accepted students and planning two social events: a dinner downtown and a morning hike
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SERVICE TO THE DISCIPLINE:
Reviewer for Political Psychology
DIVERSITY ADVOCACY AND VOLUNTEER WORK:
Language: Advanced Spanish
Volunteer Refugee Resettlement Department, Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest, Tucson
February 2018 – January 2019
Bilingual Reception Volunteer, International House of Charlotte April 2016-July 2016, January-February 2017
Young Adult in Global Mission Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Oberá, Misiones, Argentina August 2015-March 2016
SafeZone Coordinator, Multicultural Student Programs and Services, College of Charleston Spring 2014 - Spring 2015
College of Charleston Gay-Straight Alliance:
Secretary- elected for the 2012-13 and the 2013-14 school year
President- elected for the 2014-2015 school year
Board Member, College of Charleston Gender and Sexuality Equity Center 2013 -2015
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COMPUTATIONAL SKILLS: R, STATA, Qualtrics, Excel, Microsoft Office Suite
Research
Areas of Expertise: American Politics, Political Psychology, Immigration and Refugee Issues, Public Opinion, Political Communication
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I study topics in American Politics and Political Psychology, including public opinion and minority public opinion, political psychology, immigration and refugee issues, and political communication. My research agenda addresses how the securitization and racialization of immigration policy in the United States influences attitudes toward immigration policy among minority populations and among the American public more broadly.
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My dissertation focuses on elite framing of contemporary refugee policy, particularly as it relates to stereotypes of refugees. In my work, I design and administer experiments to test the causal impacts of immigration rhetoric on distinct populations: American partisans, American Muslims and Christians, and resettled former refugees. This involved coding immigration rhetoric among political elites, recruiting samples of hard-to-reach populations including American Muslim and refugee participants, and analyzing both survey and experimental data. Overall, my work finds broad support for restrictive refugee policies across sub-populations despite diametrically opposed stereotypes of refugees by opinion leaders.
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I have several related collaborative projects regarding immigration and refugee policies and public and elite attitudes and behavior. This includes a published article at Social Science Quarterly (co-authored with Dr. Lisa Sanchez), in which we find that beneficial immigration policy making is particularly responsive to the need generated by immigrant population size, regardless of the documentation status of the beneficiary. As a member of the Psychology of Inequality and Politics (PIP) lab, I am designing a survey with Dr. Frank Gonzalez to investigate how stereotypes of immigrants may influence the degree to which native-born populations are motivated to help, versus avoid, immigrant populations. I am also the lead author on a large-scale experimental study across the US and Canada, in which we identify the conditions under which foreign leaders persuade (and dissuade) partisans to support border closures. This article (co-authored with Dr. Samara Klar and Dr. Timothy Gravelle) is currently being revised for resubmission.
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PUBLISHED SCHOLARLY WORK:
Sanchez, L. M., & Williams, I. (2020). Extending a Hand in Perilous Times: Beneficial Immigration Policy in the Fifty States, 2005–2012. Social Science Quarterly, 101(6), 2257-2271.
SELECT WORKING PAPERS:
Isabel Williams, Timothy Gravelle, and Klar, Samara. “Does Motivated Reasoning Cross Borders? Ideology, Neighboring-Country Behavior, and Support for COVID-Related Border Restrictions in the United States and Canada” Revise and Resubmit
Isabel Williams. “How Stereotypes of Refugees Shape Attitudes Toward Refugee Restrictions: A Study of Christian and Muslim Americans” Revise and Resubmit
Isabel Williams. “How Security Frames Create Disagreement in Public Opinion:
Evidence from US Refugee Policy” Under Review
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Teaching
Teaching Interests: American Politics, Immigration and Refugee Policy, Political Psychology, LGBTQ+ Politics, Experimental and Survey Methods, Research Design, Public Opinion, Writing for Social Science
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At the University of Arizona, a Hispanic-serving institution located on the traditional lands of the Tohono O'odham and Pascua Yaqui peoples, I have educated a cross section of traditional and non-traditional students including significant first-generation higher education receiving and second-generation immigrant student populations. Students appreciate my efforts to form a micro-society modeling civil discourse and their qualitative evaluations highlight my clear communication, substantive feedback, and encouragement and help in their understanding of the course material. I incorporate innovative teaching strategies to engage students in a variety of formats. For example, for my Immigration and Refugee Politics course, I created a documentary-style lecture -“Migration in the USA”- and the Migration Station podcast.
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My teaching philosophy is centered around modeling civil discourse and making space for sensitive conversations about politics, stereotypes, and prejudice. In my courses, I highlight my research and expertise in public opinion, political psychology, minority politics, and trends in US immigration policy through recorded lectures and discussion activities. I strive to help students understand the social, institutional, political, and legal issues that impact contemporary politics. For example, in my Immigration and Refugee Politics course, I discuss the dual trends of the racialization and securitization of immigration policy in the United States as a foundation for understanding immigration politics today.
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I love teaching and my excellent teaching evaluations suggest that my students love my classes!
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Instructor of Record:
LAS POL 388 Immigration and Refugee Politics
Online, Summer II 2021, July 6th-August 20th, 2021 in progress
Online, Fall II 2020, October 15th-December 9th, 2020
POL 201 American National Government
Online, Spring I 2021, January 13th-March 8th, 2021
Online, Summer I 2020, May18th-July3rd, 2020
Online, Spring II, March 16th-May 8th, 2020
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Anonymous Student Comments:
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"Isabel did a great job breaking down complex issues and making them accessible to all."
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"The content that she incorporated in this class was very educational and impactful. I loved her organization and different ways to keep us engaged. She was clear with the expectations for this class and really pushed me to try to learn more. I would recommend this class to everyone I know!"
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"I really enjoyed the course and the material that was presented. I thought the assignments were fair and focused on what we were learning that week. I also really appreciate the thorough feedback the instructor provided on every assignment! I especially enjoyed listening to Migration Station!"
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"I really liked that Professor Williams was so open and transparent about every assignment. she also made sure that everyone could reach her and responded to all of my emails in a timely manner which I appreciated!"
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"How the instructor challenged us to back up our opinions in discussion. When we take a stance to address political issues, we learned to back it up with reliable sources."
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"There was very detailed feedback specific to the discussion posts. She gave helpful information on how to better formulate the idea in the responses which really gave me direction for following topics. I could see the differences in how the classmates changed in their ideas and responses as well and it made the experience enjoyable."
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"Prof. Williams is great. You can tell that she has a huge passion about this subject material and will go out of her way to provide extra and meaningful follow ups to responses you (the student) provided for coursework. She is always available during her office hours and by email to answer any questions you may have and is very approachable. I enjoyed this class a lot and I feel it really helped solidify my interest in immigration politics."
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"The course utilized technology effectively and the PlayPosit quizzes were very interactive. Professor Williams was also very easy to work with and her time, attention and care to student's success was evident by her thoughtful and comprehensive feedback in every assignment."
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