Contact Information

Biography

Dr. Abigail Hemmen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Duquesne University. She teaches courses on American politics, including American National Government, Public Policy, and State Government. Broadly, her research asks how technology has changed our political environment. 

Her published work has focused on state legislators' use of social media, controversial speech online and university campuses, and the consequences of state legislators' participation and support of the January 6 protests. Her current projects include testing the emotional responses of those on social media versus more traditional media, when Americans support political compromise, and how social media has changed the way state politicians connect with the public. 

Dr. Hemmen's work has appeared in outlets including the British Journal of Political Science, State Politics & Policy Quarterly, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

Education

  • Ph.D., Political Science,  University of Notre Dame, 2026 
  • B.A., Political Science and English, Indiana State University, 2021 

 

 

School

  • POSC 105: American National Government 
  • POSC 292W: Public Policy 
  • POSC State Politics 
  • POSC Politics & Social media (Political Communication) 
  • "Is It Worth Posting? Testing the Influence of State Legislators in Simulated Social media." (2026). State Politics & Policy Quarterly, vol. 1 
  • "The Consequences of Elite Actions Against Elections." British Journal of Political Science, vol. 55, no. e159, with Rachel Porter, Jeff Harden, Emily Anderson, Mackenzie Doboson, Gessica de Freites, and Emma Schroeder 
  • "Illusory interparty disagreement: Partisans agree on what hate speech to censor but do not know it." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, volume. 121, no. 39, with Matt Hall, Brittany Solomon, and James Druckman 
  • Democracy Catalyst Grant for "Understanding American's support for Political Compromise" with James Kirk ($18,200) from University of Notre Dame's Democracy Initiative 
  • Centennial Grant for "Responding to Representation: THe Malleability of External Political Efficacy" with Emily Anderson ($2,500) from American Political Science Association 
  • "Understanding Americans' Support for Political Compromise", Midwest Political Science Association, April 2026 
  • "Posting with Purpose: Identity and Timing in State Legislators' Posts", State Politics & Policy Conference, June 2026 
  • "#Federalism: Governors' Social Media, National Politics, and Public Support", American Political Science Association, September 2026