Adam Hilton

he/they

  • Associate Professor of Politics
Adam Hilton

Professor Adam Hilton's teaching and research approaches American politics from a comparative and historical perspective. More specifically, his scholarship focuses on the intersection of institutional and contentious forms of politics, especially the dynamic interrelationships of social movements and political parties as co-evolutionary forces in American political development.

His new book, True Blues: The Contentious Transformation of the Democratic Party (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021), traces the struggle of officeholders and outside groups to control the party since the end of the New Deal era and offers a new perspective on how to understand party politics more broadly.

He has published in a variety of professional and public venues, including Studies in Political Economy, Studies in American Political Development, Polity, New Political Science, the Socialist Register, New Labor Forum, the Washington Post, and Jacobin Magazine.

He regularly teaches courses on American Politics, US Elections, Parties and Movements, Inequality, and American Political Development.

Areas of Expertise

American Politics; US Elections; Political Parties; Social Movements; American Political Development

Education

  • Ph.D., M.A., York University
  • B.A., Evergreen State College

Happening at Mount Holyoke

Recent Campus News

In front of a packed crowd in Mount Holyoke’s Gamble Auditorium, a panel of legal scholars and political experts discussed what we could expect not only from the upcoming presidential election but also from more hyper-focused local races.

Following President Joseph Biden’s announcement ending his reelection campaign, Mount Holyoke College Associate Professor Adam Hilton told MassLive that Vice President Kamala Harris is the most likely Democratic nominee.

Mount Holyoke College Assistant Professor Adam Hilton shared his opinion on the outcome of the first presidential debate and what it might mean for the November election with local news outlets.

Recent Grants

Received a Centennial Grant for Supplemental Research Support from the American Political Science Association for “Making Waves: How Party Insurgents Transform American Politics (Even When They Lose).” The project is for one year. (2022)

Recent Publications

Amelia Malpas ’22 and Adam Hilton, "Retreating from Redistribution? Trends in Democratic Party Fidelity to Economic Equality, 1984-2020," paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL, April 14-18, 2021

Hilton, A. (2021). True blues: The contentious transformation of the Democratic Party. University of Pennsylvania Press.

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