Carol M. Swain

Carol M. Swain is a Professor of Political Science and Professor of Law at Vanderbilt University. Professor Swain’s work on representation and race relations has earned her national and international accolades. Her highly acclaimed book, Black Faces, Black Interests: The Representation of African Americans in Congress (1993, 1995 Harvard University Press; reprinted in 2006 by University Press of America) was named one of the seven outstanding academic books of 1994 by Library Choice Journal, received the 1994 Woodrow Wilson prize for the best book published in the U.S. on government, politics or international affairs, the Hardeman Prize for best scholarly work on Congress during 1994-1995, and was the co-winner of the Key Award for the best book published on southern politics. Black Faces was cited by the U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy in Johnson v. DeGrandy (1994) and by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor in Georgia v. Ashcroft (2003). Her most recent book, Debating Immigration, is a collection of 18 essays by Swain and other scholars that explore the nuances of contemporary immigration and citizenship in the U.S. and Europe. She has also written and co-authored books on White Nationalism.

A widely recognized expert on race relations, immigration, black leadership and evangelical politics, she is a member of the Tennessee Advisory Committee to the U.S. Civil Rights Commission and was recently appointed to the advisory board of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her opinion pieces have been published in the New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times and USA Today. She is a regular contributor to CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight, and her media appearances include BBC World News, NPR, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Fox News Live, PBS’s News Hour with Jim Lehrer, The Washington Journal and ABC’s Headline News, among other media.

Before joining Vanderbilt in 1999, Professor Swain was a tenured associate professor of politics and public policy at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. She is a foundation member of the Virginia Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.