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Faculty Member

Dr. Verlan Lewis

Biography

Verlan Lewis is the Stirling Professor of Constitutional Studies, and associate professor of political science, at UVU where he researches, teaches, and writes about the interaction of ideas and institutions in American politics. His writing has appeared in a variety of publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Hill, Political Science Quarterly, Party Politics, Studies in American Political Development, Presidential Studies Quarterly, and The Forum. His first book, Ideas of Power, was published by Cambridge University Press in 2019. His second book, The Myth of Left and Right, was published by Oxford University Press in 2023.

Education

Postdoc, Stanford University, 2017

Major: Political Science

PhD, University of Virginia, 2015

Major: Government

MPhil, Cambridge University, 2010

Major: Political Thought & Intellectual History

Teaching

POLS 1100

American National Government, Spring 2025

Presentations

Lewis, Verlan , 2025 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, "The U.S. Constitution, the Myth of Left and Right, and American Party Ideology Development", American Political Science Association, Vancouver, BC. (September 11, 2025)
Lewis, Verlan , Ohio Civics Center Symposium , "Civic Partisanship and the Myth of Left and Right", Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. (April 24, 2025)
Lewis, Verlan , Lewis, Hyrum , University of New England President's Forum, "Election 2024_ Left, Right, or Unrecognizable?", UNE Office of the President, Biddeford, ME. (October 16, 2024)
Lewis, Verlan (Presenter & Author), Lewis, Hyrum (Presenter & Author), UVU Constitution Day Conference, "How the Myth of Left and Right Undermines Constitutional Government", UVU Center for Constitutional Studies Constitution . (September 17, 2024)
Lewis, Verlan (Presenter & Author), Harvard Program on Constitutional Government, "The Myth of Left and Right", Harvard Center for American Political Studies. (October 19, 2023)
Lewis, Verlan (Presenter & Author), Lewis, Hyrum (Presenter & Author), Michigan State University Constitution Day 2023, "How the Myth of Left and Right is Undermining our Constitution", Michigan State University James Madison College, East Lansing, MI. (September 21, 2023)

Scholarly/Creative Works

Lewis, Verlan , (2025) "The U.S. Constitution, the Myth of Left and Right, and American Party Ideology Development" . Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Lewis, Verlan , "Political Labels Can Confuse or Clarify" . Leiden: The Institute for Cultural Anthropology. https://www.itiwana.org/ica
Lewis, Verlan , "Should Voters Care More about Policy than Character? Presidential Reputations and Unexpected Policy in American Politics" . Washington, DC: Perspectives on Politics.
Lewis, Hyrum , Lewis, Verlan , (2024) "The Founders’ Political Framework did not Involve the ‘Left’ and the ‘Right’" (Issue: 20 September 2024). Salt Lake City, UT: The Deseret News. https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2024/09/16/left-right-political-spectrum-founders-constitution-day/
Lewis, Verlan , (2024) "The Fourth of July Reminds us That the Way to Enjoy Freedom is to Promote Pluralism" (Issue: 5 July 2024). Salt Lake city: The Deseret News. https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2024/07/02/fourth-of-july-promote-pluralism-freedom/
Lewis, Verlan , Lewis, Hyrum , (2023) "The Myth of Left and Right_ How the Political Spectrum Misleads and Harms America" . New York: Oxford University Press. https://academic.oup.com/book/44905

Awards

Senior Fellowship

Jack Miller Center - September, 2024

Awarded a senior fellowship in constitutional studies by the Jack Miller Center for Teaching America's Founding Principles and History to conduct academic and public scholarship on pluralism and constitutional stability.

Visiting Fellowship

Harvard University - March, 2021

Awarded a visiting fellowship by the Harvard Center for American Political Studies to research and write a book on The Myth of Left and Right (Oxford University Press, 2023).

Book Award

Association of College and Research Libraries - January, 2020

Choice Outstanding Academic Title awarded for Ideas of Power (Cambridge University Press, 2019). Given to the top 10% of academic books reviewed by the Association of College and Research Libraries each year for excellent scholarship.

Postdoctoral Fellowship

Stanford University - March, 2015

Awarded a postdoctoral fellowship by the Stanford Department of Political Science to research and write a book on The Politics of American Party Ideology Development (Cambridge University Press, 2019).

Doctoral Fellowship

University of Virginia - August, 2010

Awarded funding from the University of Virginia Department of Politics to study for a Ph.D. in Government.

First Class Dissertation

Cambridge University - July, 2010

Recognized distinction for M.Phil. dissertation in the Political Thought and Intellectual History program.