Dr. Kirstin Birkhaug teaches Introduction to American Politics, State and Local Government, and all upper-level political theory courses, including American Political and Social Thought, Ancient and Medieval Political Thought, Modern Political Thought, and Contemporary Political Thought. Dr. Birkhaug is also a member of the Emmaus Scholars faculty and the faculty advisor for the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Leadership Fellows Program at Hope College. She joined the Department of Political Science in 2023.

She studies early American political thought, with a focus on the contributions of women. Her recent projects have examined topics including citizenship, liberty, constitutionalism, and the views of historical figures including Phillis Wheatley, Mercy Otis Warren, John Adams and Alexis de Tocqueville. She is the book reviews editor of the Journal of Religion, Culture & Democracy. 

AREAS OF Expertise

• Political theory
• History of political thought
• American political thought

EDUCATION

• Ph.D., political science, University of Wisconsin–Madison, 2023
• B.A., political science & business, Hope College, 2019

Selected PUBLIcations

• “Disaster Recovery, Entrepreneurship, and the American Revolution: Women in the Foundations of American Political Economy,” chapter in Political Process: New Perspectives on the Virginia and Bloomington Schools (ed. by Donald J. Boudreaux, Christopher J. Coyne and Brian Kogelmann), Lexington Books, forthcoming October 2024
• “Margaretta, Trojan Horse: Judith Sargent Murray and Early American Sexual Equality,” Political Science Reviewer, 2023
• “Enduring Memories of the American Revolution,” Law and Liberty, 2023
• “What We Find Between the Pages,” The Constitutionalist, 2022
• “Better Things Than Happiness,” Law and Liberty, 2022

Outside the College

Dr. Birkhaug’s hobbies include reveling in the walkability of Holland, Michigan, collecting secondhand books and attempting keep alive her ever-expanding family of office spider plants. Even outside of office hours, she can often be found lurking around Lubbers Hall, which she considers to be the best building in existence. When not writing about political theory or inviting students to make fun of her intemperate love of reality TV, Dr. Birkhaug spends most of her time with her husband, Jake, who once lived on the same floor as her in Kollen Hall.