SEONGJOON AHN

(pronounced as sung-june)

I am a Ph.D. Candidate in the Political Science Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. My research focuses primarily on the variations in the public's conceptions of democracy. My dissertation, In the Name of Democracy: Composition, Variation, and Measurement of Democratic Conceptions, investigates the American public's disagreements over the meaning of democracy and its underlying features and explores the impact of these differences on key political behaviors and attitudes pertaining to democratic backsliding. 

My research has been generously supported by the Rapoport Family Foundation, Humane Studies Institute, International Foundation for Korea University, and multiple scholarships and awards from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

In addition to my research, I'm a recipient of the UIUC Liberal Arts and Sciences Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching for Graduate Teaching Assistants. I've developed and taught multiple courses and maintained the highest level of evaluations at the college level. 

Before coming to UIUC, I worked as an English Editor at the Blue House (The Office of the President of the Republic of Korea), assisting the Chief Secretary of Economic Affairs. I received an M.A. in the Social Sciences (Focus: Political Theory) from the University of Chicago and an M.A. and a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations from Korea University.