Michael Illuzzi

Lesley University

Michael Illuzzi is an associate professor of political science at Lesley University and director of the Lesley CLAS Honors Program, which has a focus on critical community engagement. His research and teaching interests include American political development and political thought, with a focus on issues of American peoplehood and racial, gender, and class inequalities. His current book project Populism and Peoplehood in America: Moderating Visions and Leading Moderates argues that the history of US political actors and activists fighting against interlocking systems of oppression shows they relied upon community-building narratives that invoked religion, patriotism, and populism to fight actors peddling more exclusionary narratives. Now more than ever we cannot afford to keep this left-wing variation buried. Michael holds a PhD in political science from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and a BS in culture and politics from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

Areas of Expertise

• History
• Political Science

Methodology

• Archival Methods
• Qualitative Methods