Headshot of Aaron Sparks

Aaron Sparks

Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Policy

Department: Political Science and Public Policy

Office and address: Gray Pavilion - Pol. Science, office 210D 2333 Campus Box Elon, NC 27244

Phone number: (336) 278-6652

Professional Expertise

www.elon.edu/sparkslab

Brief Biography

Dr. Sparks joined Elon University as Assistant Professor of Political Science in the fall of 2018. He earned a B.S. in Biology from Westmont College, a Masters in Public Administration from Penn State Harrisburg, and a M.A./Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California Santa Barbara. Dr. Sparks' research interests center around the politics of environmental policy and he is particularly interested in understanding how people form their beliefs and attitudes on environmental issues and how those attitudes shape their behavior.

Links

    Education

    Ph.D., The University of California, Santa Barbara, 2017 

    M.A., The University of California, Santa Barbara, 2014

    M.P.A., The Pennsylvania State University - Harrisburg, 2011

    B.S., Westmont College, Biology, 2007

    Employment History

    Visiting Assistant Professor (2017-2018)

    Department of History, Political Science, and Geography

    Ohio Northern University

     

    Constituent Services Representative

    Senate of Pennsylvania

    Courses Taught

    Fall 2018:

    Introduction to American Government (POL 111E)

    Environmental Policy (PST 224)

    Political Behavior (POL 329)

    Past:

    State and Local Politics (ONU)

    Health Policy (ONU)

    Environmental Public Opinion and survey design (UCSB Bren School)

    Current Projects

    I have several ongoing projects with Elon students through my undergraduate research lab vist www.elon.edu/sparkslab for more information. 

    Publications

    Usry, K., Husser, J., Sparks, A.C. (2022). “ ’I’m not a scientist, I Know What I See’: Hurricane experience and climate change acceptance. Social Science Quarterly,  

    https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13196

    Sparks, AC, P. Ehret, C. Brick, (2022). “Measuring pro-environmental orientation: Testing and building scales.” Journal of Environmental Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2022.101780

    Sparks, A. C. (2021). “Climate change in your backyard: When climate is proximate, people become activists.” Frontiers in Political Science, 3, 75., https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2021.666978

    Kuehl, C., Sparks, A.C., H. Hodges, E.R.A.N. Smith. (2021). “The incoherence of sustainability literacy assessed with the Sulitest.” Nature: Sustainability, 4(6), 555-560, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00687-6

    Sparks, A.C., H. Hodges, S. Oliver, E.R.A.N. Smith. (2021). “Confidence in Local, National, and International Scientists on Climate Change.” Sustainability, 13, 272, https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010272

    Sparks, A.C., G. Henderson, S. Sriram, & E.R.A.N. Smith. (2021). “Measuring Environmental Values and Identity,” Society & Natural Resources, 34(3), 291-310. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2020.1817644

    P. Ehret, Sparks, A.C. & D. Sherman. (2017). “Support for Environmental Protection: An integration of ideological-consistency and information-deficit models.” Environmental Politics, 26(2), 153-177.

    H. Han, Sparks, A.C., & N. Towery. (2017). “Opening Up the Black Box: Citizen Group Strategies for Engaging Grassroots Activism in the 21st Century.” Interest Groups & Advocacy, 6(1), 22-43.

    Book chapters

    J. Fine, H. Han. K.H. Yu, & Sparks, A.C. (2018). “Greedy’ Institutions or Beloved Communities? Assessing the Job Satisfaction of Organizers.” No one size fits all: Worker organization, policy and movement in a new economic age. J. Fine et al Eds. Cornell University Press.

    H. Hodges, C. Kuehl, Sparks, A.C., & E.R.A.N. Smith. (2016). “Delivering Energy (often) Requires Public Consent.” Delivering Energy Law and Policy in the EU and US. R.J. Heffron and G. Little, Eds. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

    Skills

    R, LaTeX