Bruce Williams

brucewm@uiuc.edu

Director, Institute of Communications Research

Research Professor of Communications

Professor of Urban and Regional Planning

Primary areas of interest: Mass media and political discourse; media and public policy (especially environmental policy); new media technologies; philosophical underpinnings of social science research methods.






Professor Williams is broadly concerned with the implications of technological change and complexity for democratic life, especially in the United States. His most recent book, Democracy, Dialogue, and Environmental Disputes: The Contested Languages of Social Regulation, explores the ways in which the increasing complexity and uncertainty of the issues faced by the political system are dealt with by political officials, scientific and technical experts, and most significantly, ordinary citizens. This book was named the best book published in 1996 by the Science, Technology, and Environmental Politics section of the American Political Science Association.

Currently he is completing a book manuscript – And the Walls Came Tumbling Down: The Eroding Boundaries Between News and Entertainment and What They Mean for Mediated Politics in the 21st Century – (with Michael Delli Carpini) which explores the implications of the new media environment for the relationships among media, politics, and citizenship in the 21st century. He is also working on a project comparing how (1) changes in media technology (e.g, cable, satellite, VCRs, etc.) have altered public understanding of political violence in Israel and the United States and (2) the ways in which the Internet has affected the viability and political strategies of extremist groups in the two countries.

Ph.D., Political Science, University of Minnesota.