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Headshot of Ryan Williams

Ryan J. Williams, Ph.D.

he/him/his

Assistant Professor of Criminology and Sociology

Location

Decary 331
Biddeford Campus

91AV Courses

SOC 170: Deviance and Crime

CRL 205: The Criminal Justice System

Bio

Ryan Williams received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2019. His research and teaching focus on American criminal justice, judicial politics, political institutions, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. His work has appeared in peer-reviewed journals such as Law & Social Inquiry, Studies in American Political DevelopmentPS: Political Science and Politics, Justice System Journal, and the Journal of Political Science Education. He has also contributed to edited volumes published by Routledge, Palgrave Macmillan, and Equinox. Ryan is the co-author of the forthcoming volume, The U.S. Criminal Justice System: A Reference Handbook. He previously served as the pre-law advisor for the University of South Alabama, where he received the 2021-2022 Academic Advising Award for the College of Arts and Sciences.

 

 



 

Credentials

Education

PhD - Political Science
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2019
MA - Political Science
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2015
ABJ - Digital and Broadcast Journalism
The University of Georgia
2013
AB - Political Science
The University of Georgia
2013

Expertise

  • Active learning
  • American politics
  • Constitutional law
  • Criminal justice
  • Law
  • Quantitative research
  • Supreme Court
  • United States politics

Research

Selected publications

Koon-Magnin, S., & Williams, R.J. (2024). The U.S. Criminal Justice System: A Reference Handbook. Bloomsbury.

Williams, R. J., & Christiani, L. (2023). Are You Talking to Me? How Ideological and Gender Characteristics Moderate the Effect of Legitimizing Rhetoric on SCOTUS Legitimacy. Law & Social Inquiry, 1-25.

Dichio, M., Strother, L., & Williams, R. J. (2022). “To Render Prompt Justice”: The Origins and Construction of the US Court of Claims. Studies in American Political Development, 36(2), 120-137.

Britt, L., & Williams, R. J. (2022). Institutions and Arguments: Simulating the US Policy-Making Process. PS: Political Science & Politics, 55(1), 176-181.

Williams, R. J., & Chergosky, A. J. (2019). Teaching judicial politics through a supreme court simulation. Journal of Political Science Education, 15(1), 17-36.

Williams, R. J., & Smith, J. F. (2018). Keeping up appearances: Non-policy court responses to public opinion. Justice System Journal, 39(1), 54-74.