Making Predictions About Politics: A Cure for Polarization?
Can making bets about the future prevent nasty disagreements about politics? In this presentation, Dr. Aaron Houck, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Queens University of Charlotte, will make the case that making and tracking predictions about politics can help citizens establish empirical common ground with each other—and perhaps alleviate the problems of ideological polarization.
Dr. Houck will provide suggestions for how to choose topics for predictions, how to make predictions, and how to assess your predictions. Come learn a fun method for evaluating how accurate your worldview is (or isn’t!).
BACKGROUND
QUEENS UNIVERSITY OF CHARLOTTE, Charlotte, NC. 2015–
Assistant Professor, Political Science Department, August 2015–.
DAVIDSON COLLEGE, Davidson, NC. 2013–2015
Assessment Coordinator, Davidson Next, July 2014–August 2015
Adjunct Visiting Lecturer, Department of Political Science, August 2013–May 2014.
UNC CHARLOTTE URBAN INSTITUTE, Charlotte, NC. 2007–2009
Associate Director, Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) at UNC Charlotte, February 2008–June 2009.
Research Assistant, June 2007–February 2008.
ROBINSON, BRADSHAW & HINSON, P.A., Charlotte, NC. 2005–2007
Associate Attorney, Real Estate Department, September 2005–June 2007.
EDUCATION
DUKE UNIVERSITY, Durham, NC. 2009–2014
Ph.D., Political Science, September 2014.
M.A., Political Science, May 2012.
Honors: James B. Duke Fellow, University Scholar.
Dissertation: “Judicial Review, the Long-Run Game: Endogenous Institutional Change at the U.S. Supreme Court.” Committee: Jack Knight (chair), John Aldrich, Guy-Uriel Charles, David Rohde, Georg Vanberg.
HARVARD LAW SCHOOL, Cambridge, MA. 2002–2005 J.D., June 2005.
DAVIDSON COLLEGE, Davidson, NC. 1998–2002
B.A., Economics and Political Science, cum laude, May 2002.
Honors: John M. Belk Scholar, Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa, Omicron Delta Epsilon.
PUBLICATIONS
Houck, Aaron M. 2019. “Failure to Launch: False Starts in Designing the Political Capstone as a True Ending to the Major.” Journal of Political Science Education DOI: 10.1080/15512169.2019.1598873
Abramson, Paul R., John H. Aldrich, Abraham Diskin, Aaron M. Houck, Renan Levine, Thomas J. Scotto, and David Sparks. 2018. “The Effect of National and Constituency Expectations on Tactical Voting in the British General Election of 2010” in The Many Faces of Strategic Voting, (John H. Aldrich, André Blais, and Laura Stephenson, eds.), University of Michigan Press.
Houck, Aaron M. and Brian P. Smentkowski. 2018. “Brett Kavanaugh,” Encyclopædia Britannica.
Houck, Aaron M. and Brian P. Smentkowski. 2018. “Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” Encyclopædia Britannica.
