Melissa Nobles

professor, political science, MIT

Melissa Nobles is Associate Professor of Political Science. Professor Nobles teaching and research interests are in the comparative study of racial and ethnic politics, and issues of retrospective justice. Her book, *Shades of Citizenship: Race and the Census in Modern Politics* (2000), examines the political origins and consequences of racial categorization in demographic censuses in the United States and Brazil. *The Politics of Official Apologies*, (2008), comparatively examines the political uses of official apologies in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. It explores why minority groups demand such apologies and why governments give them (or not). Nobles holds a BA in history from Brown University and an MA and PhD in political science from Yale University. Shades of Citizenship received the Outstanding Book Award for 2001 from the National Conference of Black Political Scientists, as well as an Honorable Mention for the Ralph Bunch Book Award from the American Political Science Association. Nobles has also been a Fellow at Boston University's Institute on Race and Social Division (2000-01) and Harvard University's Radcliffe Center for Advanced Study (2003-04).