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 people's conceptions of democracy and their consequences. My dissertation, In the Name of Democracy: Composition, Variation, and Measurement of Conceptions of Democracy, investigates in what ways conceptions of democracy differ among Americans and how these differences relate to key political behaviors and attitudes on democratic backsliding. 

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

In addition to my research, I'm a recipient of the University of Illinois College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching for Graduate Teaching Assistants, a prestigious award given to only six recipients each year among 2,500 graduate students across more than 50 departments in the college. I've developed and taught multiple courses and maintained the highest level of evaluations at the college level. I'm also an award-winning research mentor for guiding research assistants with their independent projects. 

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.