Welcome! I’m Dr. Brian Harrison (Ph.D., Northwestern University), a social scientist, writer, political consultant, and award-winning teacher living in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area. My writing focuses on American politics, political communication, public opinion, and LGBTQ+ rights. I’ve been cited in the New York Times, NPR, Washington Post, NBC News, Salon, and The Guardian (UK).
I’ve published 4 books: three with Oxford University Press and one with Bloomsbury:
*A Change is Gonna Come: How to Have Effective Political Conversations in a Divided America (Oxford University Press 2020, solo-authored) asks the seemingly simple question: How can we speak to each other about politics in a way that doesn’t alienate each other? Drawing from a mix of empirical research from social psychology, communication studies, and political science as well as personal narratives and examples, A Change reflects on the last 15 years of LGBTQ struggles and successes to provide concrete and useable suggestions to meaningful political engagement.
*Transforming Prejudice: Identity, Fear, and Transgender Rights (Oxford University Press, 2020, with Melissa Michelson) investigates attitudes toward transgender people and rights and identifies opportunities for attitude change through strategic communication.
*Listen, We Need To Talk (Oxford University Press, 2017, with Melissa Michelson) looks at how identity and communication affect attitudes toward LGBT rights like marriage equality, employment non-discrimination, and transgender rights (www.tinyurl.com/listenweneedtotalk).
*LGBTQ Life in America: Examining the Facts (Bloomsbury, 2021, with Melissa Michelson): Utilizing authoritative sources and lay-friendly definitions and explanations, this work punctures myths, misconceptions, and incorrect assumptions about sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expectations and norms. In addition, it provides an illuminating record of the history of discrimination and mistreatment to which LGBTQ people have historically been subjected in the U.S. At a time when information itself is increasingly fraught in American political discourse, this book provides facts and context for the most important questions facing LGBTQ Americans, past, present, and future (https://products.abc-clio.com/ABC-CLIOCorporate/product.aspx?pc=A6268C).