Ronald Brown
Position Title
Associate Professor, Political Science
Biography
Dr. Ronald E. Brown is an associate professor of political science whose teaching and research interests intersect. He strongly believes that teaching Introduction to American Politics contributes to the health of our democratic republic. In addition, Religion and Politics, Detroit Politics, and African American Politics expose students to the ongoing quest for procedural and substantive justice by civil rights activists and scholars.
Brown is a board member and participant in civic literacy programs sponsored by Citizen Detroit, a nonprofit organization that hosts workshops on topics such as gerrymandering, the City Charter, local, state, and national elections.
An international or global democratic perspective is an integral part of courses taught by Professor Brown. Illustrative examples include writings and analyses of Frederick Douglass’s anti-slavery speeches in Great Britain in the 19th century, as well as comparison and contrast between black power struggles in the United States, Great Britain, and South Africa. Moreover, Professor Brown’s prior study abroad courses identifying and describing faith-based politics in South Africa, Turkey, and Ghana increased student knowledge of the power of government(s) to control the political agenda.
In the Fall 2021 semester, the African American Politics course will have an international dimension that explores the political narratives that human rights activists, intellectuals, and faith-based organizations and institutions employ to problematize policing, surveillance, and state-sponsored violence.
Ronald Brown’s recent research projects are with his son, Associate Professor R. Khari Brown, Department of Sociology, Wayne State University. He is the co-co-principal investigator of the 2020-21 National Politics Study, and the Detroit Area COVID-19 Study, co-funded by the University of Michigan and Wayne State University. He is the co-author along with R. Khari Brown, and James S. Jackson, Race and the Power of Sermons on American Politics, University of Michigan Press, 2021.