Christiane Olivo
Dr. Christiane Olivo, associate professor of political science, earned her Ph.D. in political science (with concentrations in comparative politics and political theory) at Indiana University—Bloomington in 1997. Her current research focuses on voluntary associations, social movements and grassroots democracy in eastern Germany. Her book, Creating a Democratic Civil Society in Eastern Germany, was published by Palgrave in 2001 and was chosen as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title. Dr. Olivo’s scholarly work has been published in several academic journals, such as Democratization, Perspectives on Politics, German Politics and Society, Proteus: A Journal of Ideas, and Polity.
Dr. Olivo has taught a wide variety of courses at UNC since 2001 and earlier at Antioch College, the University of Denver, and the University of Colorado at Denver. These courses include American Political Philosophy, European Politics, Comparative Social Movements, Eco-feminism, Fundamentals of Politics, Political Philosophy, Politics of Education, and Women and Politics. In the summer of 2011 she was a visiting professor at the Kazakhstan Institute for Management, Economics and Strategic Research in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where she taught a class in Western Civilizations.
As the founder and director of UNC’s Institute for Civic Education, Dr. Olivo has offered seminars and workshops in civics to hundreds of K-12 teachers on such topics as women and politics, the fall of communism, European identity, comparing democracies, and the Colorado Model Content Standards in Civics. She also has worked with high school students since 2002 as a district, state and national judge for the We the People: Citizens and the Constitution program.
Dr. Olivo is an active citizen and community member at UNC, chairing the College of Humanities and Social Sciences Diversity Advisory Board and serving on the Undergraduate Success Committee. She also completed the Safe Zone training to become an ally for the GLBT community on campus and participated in the 2011 Catalyst: A Social Justice Retreat.
In her spare time, Dr. Olivo enjoys playing guitar, skiing, camping, hiking, and spending time with her family.
