DepartmentTorrey Honors College
Biola AffiliationsFaculty

Documents

Degrees

  • Ph.D., University of Notre Dame
  • M.A., Naval Postgraduate School
  • B.S., US Air Force Academy

Biography

Matt Van Hook received his doctoral degree in political science from the University of Notre Dame with a focus on political theory, constitutional studies, and American political thought. He also holds a master’s degree in security studies from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. Van Hook taught at the United States Air Force Academy for several years where he served as the American and Policy Studies Division Chair in the department of political science and a faculty representative for the Academy Scholars Program. His research and published work ranges from the statesmanship of Abraham Lincoln to politics and law in the novels of Harper Lee. Van Hook’s diverse career also includes two decades of service as an active-duty officer in the United States Air Force.

Affiliations

  • American Political Science Association
  • Midwest Political Science Association
  • Pi Sigma Alpha

Awards

  • 2016 Hughes Gossett Senior Prize — Supreme Court Historical Society — 2016 — Washington, D.C.

Publications

Articles

  • “Myth, Moderate, or Machiavellian? Democratic Statesmanship and the Military Mind,” Van Hook, Matthew, Political Science Reviewer, November, 2020.
  • “Justice Finch: The Complicated Law and Politics of Harper Lee’s Atticus and Scout,” Van Hook, Matthew, American Political Thought, 2019.
  • “Founding the Third Branch: Judicial Greatness and John Jay’s Reluctance,” Van Hook, Matthew, Journal of Supreme Court History, March 2015.

Book Chapters

  • “The Statesman of Two Unions,” Van Hook, Matthew, in Lincoln and Democratic Statesmanship, ed. Zuckert, Michael P., (University Press of Kansas, 2020), pp. 122-63. 

Research Interests

  • American Political Thought
  • Political Theory
  • Constitutional Law and Politics
  • Statesmanship
  • Politics and Literature
  • National Defense/National Security
  • Civic Education
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