PHD student in political SCience at Claremont Graduate University
American Politics & Comparative Politics
Edward Headington
Edward Headington is a PhD student in Political Science in the Division of Politics & Economics at Claremont Graduate University, where he specializes in American Politics and Comparative Politics.
His scholarship examines how institutions evolve over time and shape political behavior, historical memory and community formation. His research spans American political development, Native American politics, political institutions and the political and cultural history of the American West, with an emphasis on historical institutionalism and public history.
Edward is the coauthor of four peer-reviewed journal articles published in American Indian Culture and Research Journal, Research & Politics, and PS: Political Science & Politics. His current research includes projects on California missions and political memory, sundown towns and Native American exclusion, the consequences of prior electoral defeat for members of Congress, and the historical evolution of country dancing in Southern California.
Edward will also serve as an election monitor in Indian Country during the 2026 midterm elections, complementing his research interests in Native American political participation and electoral institutions. In addition to his research, Edward serves as a Graduate Assistant in the Division of Politics & Economics, where he coordinates the Tuesday Talks Research Seminar Series, and as a Teaching Assistant for PP 480: Nature of Inquiry: Quantitative Research Design in Social Science. He has also participated in Claremont Graduate University's Building Leadership through an Interdisciplinary Apprenticeship of Students (BLAIS) program and earned the Inclusive Excellence in College Teaching Certificate.
Edward will also serve as an election monitor in Indian Country during the 2026 midterm elections, complementing his research interests in Native American political participation and electoral institutions. In addition to his research, Edward serves as a Graduate Assistant in the Division of Politics & Economics, where he coordinates the Tuesday Talks Research Seminar Series, and as a Teaching Assistant for PP 480: Nature of Inquiry: Quantitative Research Design in Social Science. He has also participated in Claremont Graduate University's Building Leadership through an Interdisciplinary Apprenticeship of Students (BLAIS) program and earned the Inclusive Excellence in College Teaching Certificate.
Edward.Headington@cgu.edu
Current Research
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- Edward’s research examines the ways institutions shape political behavior, historical memory and community formation over time. His primary interests include American political development, Native American politics, political institutions, historical institutionalism, political behavior, public history and mixed-methods research.
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- California Missions: Institutions, Political Memory, and Place — An interdisciplinary study of California’s mission system examining how historical institutions shape political memory, Indigenous experiences and contemporary understandings of California’s colonial past through archival research, site visits and public history.
- Sundown Towns and Native American Exclusion — A historical study examining racial threat, institutional development and Native American exclusion in the American West, with particular attention to sundown ordinances and exclusionary practices in Nevada’s Carson Valley.
- The Scars of Defeat? Prior Electoral Losing Experience and Legislative Behavior in the U.S. Congress — A study examining whether previous electoral defeat influences the legislative behavior of members of Congress.
- Country Dancing in Southern California: From Two-Step to Line Dance — A historical study documenting the evolution of country dancing in Southern California and the region’s role in the emergence and national diffusion of modern line dancing, drawing on archival research, oral histories and participant observation.