Joseph Mello Email & Phone Number

Joseph Mello received a PhD in political science from the University of Connecticut in 2012. He joined the faculty at DePaul University in 2013, and was awarded tenure in 2019. Professor Mello specializes in the study of law, political theory, and American politics. He teaches a number of courses in these areas including: Law in the Political System (PSC 260); Rights-Based Social Movements (PSC 368); Law and Popular Culture (PSC 265); and Equal Protection of the Law (PSC 263).Professor Mello’s research focuses on law and social movements. He has published on a variety of topics including: the Supreme Court, cannabis reform, gay rights, civil rights, free speech, and conservative political thought. His most recent book Pot for Profit: Cannabis Legalization, Racial Capitalism, and the Expansion of the Carceral State (Stanford University Press, 2024) explores how the cannabis reform movement has been shaped by neoliberal economic norms and institutions. His first book, The Courts, the Ballot Box, and Gay Rights: How our Governing Institutions Shape the Same-Sex Marriage Debate (University Press of Kansas, 2016) examined the role that “parent’s rights” language played in the debate over same-sex marriage. Professor Mello has also published articles in peer reviewed journals such as Law, Culture, and the Humanities; Law and Social Inquiry; Polity; Studies in Law, Politics, and Society; and Judicature. In addition to his position as Associate professor of Political Science, Professor Mello is affiliated faculty in DePaul’s Cannabis Studies program. He also serves as faculty advisor for DePaul’s debate team and is a Pre Law advisor for the department.

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