Dr. Philip W. Barker

My teaching and research interests focus on International and Comparative Politics. My research specifically focuses on the role of religion in shaping political identity, primarily in Europe. As such, I have taught courses on European Politics, Religion and Politics, African Politics, International Law, U.S. Foreign Policy, and the Ethics of War, to name a few. I was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Malta in the spring of 2015, where I worked on my research and taught two courses.

My current research looks at the role that immigration plays in shaping political identity in Europe. In particular, to what extent have recent influxes in immigrants, particularly from primarily Muslim states, led to a strengthening of religious nationalism?

Degrees and Credentials:

B.A., History and Political Science, Texas A&M University

M.A., Political Science, University of Colorado

Ph.D., Political Science, University of Colorado

Professional Interests:

Religion and Conflict, Religion and Foreign Policy, Nationalism and Ethnic Politics, Religion and Politics, European Politics, US Foreign Policy, Identity Formation and Its Link to Conflict (both interstate and intrastate), Ethnicity and War, International Law and Justice

Professional Background:

Visiting Fulbright Scholar, Department of International Relations, University of Malta, (2015)

Associate and Assistant Professor of Political Science, Austin College, Sherman, TX (2008-2015)

Assistant Professor of Political Science, Centenary College of Louisiana, Shreveport, LA (2005-2008)

Selected Publications:

Barker, Philip W. Religious Nationalism in Modern Europe: If God Be For Us. (Routledge Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism). • Paperback edition, Routledge Press, 2014. • Original edition, Routledge Press, 2008.

Houser, Alicia and Philip W Barker “Learning to Remember,” in The Multicultural Dilemma, Michelle Williams, ed., Routledge Press, 2012.

Barker, Philip W. and William J. Muck. “Secular Roots of Religious Rage: Shaping Religious Identity in the Middle East”; Politics and Religion, Vol.2, Issue 2 (Autumn), 2009.

Personal:

I was born and raised in East Texas. I met my wife Kelly in college, and we have two children – Jack and Eleanor (who passed away in 2010). I love music, particularly of the Americana and Bluegrass genre, and I play the guitar, banjo, ukulele, and mandolin – none of them well. I’m happy so long as I have travel, good music, good books, and some mountains in my life. And in an attempt to fulfill all professorial stereotypes, I’ve also been known to smoke a pipe.