Michael C. Dawson is the John D. MacArthur Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. Dawson received his doctorate degree from Harvard. He has directed numerous public opinion studies that focus on race and public opinion. His research interests include black political behavior and public opinion, political economy, and black political ideology. More recently he has combined his quantitative work with work in political theory. His first two books, Behind the Mule: Race and Class in African-American Politics (Princeton University Press, 1995) and Black Visions: The Roots of Contemporary African-American Political Ideologies (University of Chicago Press, 2001), won multiple awards. Recent books include Not In Our Lifetimes: The Future of Black Politics (University of Chicago Press, 2011), and Blacks In and Out of the Left (Harvard University Press, 2013). Recently, with Megan Ming Francis, Dawson launched a nationwide effort to study the intersection of race and capitalism. This work includes 2016 articles in Public Culture (with Francis), and Critical Historical Studies. He is the founding and current director of the Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture at the University of Chicago. Dawson was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2006.