DepartmentTorrey Honors College
Biola AffiliationsFaculty

Documents

Degrees

  • Ph.D., Political Science, University of Notre Dame, IN, 2015
  • M.A., Political Science, University of Notre Dame, IN, 2014
  • M.A., Security Studies, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, 2010
  • B.S., Political Science (Philosophy Minor), US Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, 1999

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 for the Best Journal Article submitted to the Journal of Supreme Court History. Award sponsored by the Supreme Court Historical Society and presented by Justice Samuel Alito (June 2016).

Publications

  • “Myth, Moderate, or Machiavellian? Democratic Statesmanship and the Military Mind,” Van Hook, Matthew, Political Science Reviewer 44, no 2. 2020.
  • “The Statesman of Two Unions.” Van Hook, Matthew, In Lincoln and Democratic Statesmanship, edited by Michael P. Zuckert. 2020.
  • “Justice Finch: The Complicated Law and Politics of Harper Lee’s Atticus and Scout,” Van Hook, Matthew, American Political Thought 8, no. 3. Summer 2019.
  • “Founding the Third Branch: Judicial Greatness and John Jay’s Reluctance,” Van Hook, Matthew, Journal of Supreme Court History 40, no.1. Spring 2015.

Presentations

  • 2019 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C. Presented on “Myth, Moderate, or Machiavellian? Democratic Statesmanship and the Military Mind.” August 2019.
  • 2018 Midwest Political Science Association Conference, Chicago. Presented on “Justice Finch: The Complicated Law and Politics of Harper Lee’s Atticus and Scout.” April 2018.
  • American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia. Presented on “American Political Thought: Holloway’s Hamilton v. Jefferson: Completing or Betraying the Founding?” September 2016.
  • 2014 Midwest Political Science Association Conference, Chicago. Presented on “Lincoln’s Union: Nationalist Thought and National Statesmanship.” April 2014.
  • 2013 Midwest Political Science Association Conference, Chicago. Presented on “Founding the Third Branch: Judicial Greatness and John Jay’s Reluctance.” April 2013.

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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