Nicholas C. Dias
PhD Candidate in Political Science and Communication at the University of Pennsylvania
Hello there! My name is Nic Dias, and I am a PhD candidate at UPenn. In May 2025, I will become a post-doc at Aarhus University, where I will be working on the PARTYOPINION project under Rune Slothuus.
My research is motivated by three interrelated questions: Are citizens good custodians of democracy? Why or why not? And how could democracy work better? My dissertation challenges the long-held belief that citizens’ policy opinions are often “unprincipled” — that is, inconsistent with their underlying values and interests. Instead, I argue that citizens’ opinions appear less principled than they are, due to flaws in how scholars have evaluated citizens’ opinions. In other work, I have studied polarization’s causes, consequences, and potential remedies.
I love teaching, and I care a lot about my students. In Fall 2025, I will teach a seminar at Aarhus University on why millions of Americans voted for Donald Trump. I have led seminars on American politics and data science. Before pursuing my PhD, I taught journalists how to monitor social media for misinformation, check the authenticity of claims and images, and write effective corrections. If you are a former student of mine, please say hello!
If you want to contact me, send an email to niccdias@sas.upenn.edu. I would be happy to hear from you.