Professor Matthew Baum, Marvin Kalb Professor of Global Communications and Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government 

Matthew A. Baum is the Marvin Kalb Professor of Global Communications and Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. His research focuses on delineating the effects of domestic politics on international conflict and cooperation in general and American foreign policy in particular, as well as on the role of the mass media and public opinion in contemporary American politics. His research has appeared in over a dozen leading scholarly journals, such as the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, and the Journal of Politics. His books include Soft News Goes to War: Public Opinion and American Foreign Policy in the New Media Age and War Stories: The Causes and Consequences of Public Views of War (Forthcoming 2009, Princeton University Press). He has also contributed op-ed articles to a variety of newspapers and magazines in the United States and abroad. Before coming to Harvard, Baum was an associate professor of political science and communication studies at UCLA. He received his PhD in political science at UC San Diego in 2000.

Research Assistant Skills: Applicants should feel comfortable interpreting basic statistical analysis, as well as working with databases, excel spreadsheets, statistical software (particularly Stata), and media content analysis. Over the spring semester, Professor Baum will be working on content analysis of news coverage of rape and sexual violence in the United States and worldwide.