Sarah Birch
{{short description|American political scientist and academic}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox academic
| honorific_prefix =
| name = Sarah Birch
| honorific_suffix = {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|FRSE|FBA}}
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1963|12|5}}
| birth_place = Boston, Massachusetts, United States
| death_date =
| death_place =
| death_cause =
| region =
| nationality =
| other_names =
| occupation =
| period =
| known_for =
| title =
| boards =
| spouse =
| children =
| parents =
| family =
| awards =
| website =
| education =
| alma_mater = {{plainlist|
| thesis_title =
| thesis_url =
| thesis_year =
| school_tradition =
| doctoral_advisor =
| influences =
| era =
| discipline = Political science
| sub_discipline = {{hlist|Comparative politics|Political ethics|Electoral fraud}}
| workplaces = {{plainlist|
| doctoral_students =
| notable_students =
| main_interests =
| notable_works =
| notable_ideas =
| influenced =
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| signature_size =
| footnotes =
}}
Sarah Birch, {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|FRSE|FBA}} (born 5 December 1963) is an American political scientist and academic, specialising in comparative politics. Since 2016, she has been Professor of Political Science at King's College London. She had taught at the University of Essex between 1996 and 2013, and held the Chair of Comparative Politics at the University of Glasgow between 2013 and 2016.'BIRCH, Prof. Sarah', Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 2016 [http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U258532 accessed 24 Sept 2017]{{cite web|title=Professor Sarah Birch|url=https://www.britac.ac.uk/users/professor-sarah-birch|website=The British Academy|access-date=25 September 2017}}{{cite web|title=Professor Sarah Birch FBA FRSE|url=https://www.rse.org.uk/fellow/sarah-birch/|website=The Royal Society of Edinburgh|access-date=25 September 2017}}
Early life and education
Birch was born on 5 December 1963 in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. She was educated at Dartmouth College, and, having majored in comparative literature, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1985.{{cite web|title=CURRICULUM VITAE for Sarah Birch|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/2009_2014/documents/afet/dv/2012/2012101/20121011_cv_birch_en.pdf|website=European Parliament|access-date=27 September 2017|date=October 2012}} She then moved to the United Kingdom to study at the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford. She graduated with a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree in European literature in 1988, and completed a Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) degree in 1992. Her doctoral thesis was titled "Christine Brooke-Rose and post-war writing in France".{{cite thesis|last1=Birch|first1=Sarah|title=Christine Brooke-Rose and post-war writing in France|url=http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.314887|website=E-Thesis Online Service|publisher=The British Library Board|access-date=27 September 2017|date=1991|type=Ph.D }}
Having earned three degrees in literature, Birch turned to politics. She studied political behaviour at the University of Essex, graduating with a Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1994. She remained at Essex to gain a further Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree, which she completed in 1998. Her doctoral thesis was entitled "The social determinants of electoral behaviour in Ukraine, 1989-1994".{{cite thesis|last1=Birch|first1=Sarah|title=The social determinants of electoral behaviour in Ukraine, 1989-1994|url=http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.242231|website=E-Thesis Online Service|publisher=The British Library Board|access-date=27 September 2017|date=1998|type=Ph.D }}
Academic career
In 1996, while still studying for her second doctorate, Birch was appointed a lecturer at the University of Essex. She was promoted to Reader in 2003, and appointed Professor of Politics in 2012. From 2002 to 2011, she served as a co-editor of the British Journal of Political Science.{{cite web|title=New staff member: Sarah Birch|url=https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/socialpolitical/news/archive/2012-13/headline_282463_en.html|website=School of Social & Political Sciences|publisher=University of Glasgow|access-date=27 September 2017|date=4 July 2013}} In July 2013, she joined the University of Glasgow where she had been appointed to the Chair of Comparative Politics.{{cite web|title=Professor Sarah Birch|url=http://www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk/biography/?id=WH25615&type=P|website=The University of Glasgow Story|publisher=University of Glasgow|access-date=27 September 2017}} In 2016, she joined King's College London as Professor of Political Science and Director of Research of its Department of Political Economy.{{cite web|title=Sarah Birch|url=https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/politicaleconomy/People/academic/birch.aspx|website=Department of Political Economy|publisher=King's College London|access-date=27 September 2017}}
Honours
In 2013, Birch was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences. In 2016, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE), Scotland's national academy of science and letters. In 2018, she was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences.{{cite web |title=Fifty-eight leading social scientists conferred as Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences |url=https://acss.org.uk/news/fifty-eight-leading-social-scientists-conferred-as-fellows-of-the-academy-of-social-sciences/ |website=Academy of Social Sciences |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415232412/https://acss.org.uk/news/fifty-eight-leading-social-scientists-conferred-as-fellows-of-the-academy-of-social-sciences/ |archive-date=April 15, 2021 |date=5 April 2018 |url-status=dead}}
Selected works
- {{cite book |last1=Birch |first1=Sarah |title=Electoral malpractice |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0199606160}}
- {{cite book |last1=Allen |first1=Nicholas |last2=Birch |first2=Sarah |title=Ethics and Integrity in British Politics: How Citizens Judge their Politicians' Conduct and Why It Matters |date=2015 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-1107050501}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birch, Sarah}}
Category:American women political scientists
Category:American political scientists
Category:Academics of the University of Essex
Category:Academics of the University of Glasgow
Category:Academics of King's College London
Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Category:Fellows of the British Academy
Category:Academics from Boston
Category:Dartmouth College alumni
Category:Alumni of the University of Oxford
Category:Alumni of the University of Essex