Victor J. Hinojosa, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Political Science in the Honors Program
Education
- Ph.D., University of Notre Dame, Department of Political Science, May 2003
- M.A., University of Notre Dame, Government and International Studies, May 1998
- B.A., cum laude, Baylor University (Major: Economics, Minor: Philosophy), May 1996
Biography
Victor J. Hinojosa is Associate Professor of Political Science in the Honors Program at Baylor University where he teaches courses in Political Science, the Honors Program and in the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core (BIC). He joined the Baylor faculty in 2003, and he currently directs the Baylor Migration Project, a social innovation laboratory at Baylor that is bringing together an interdisciplinary team of faculty and students to address the challenges of child migration from Mexico and the Northern Triangle of Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador). In collaboration with the Texas Hunger Initiative, Mennonite Central Committee and others, Dr. Hinojosa and his students are working to design interventions into this challenging humanitarian crisis.
Dr. Hinojosa serves on the Board of Directors of the Ekklesia Project and is a research fellow at the Texas Hunger Initiative. He also served on Baylor University's Center for Christian Ethics Board of Directors and was the president of World Hunger Relief's Board of Directors. Dr. Hinojosa and his family are active members of DaySpring Baptist Church in Waco where he teaches Sunday school.
Academic Interests and Research
Dr. Hinojosa’s research and teaching focus on Latin American politics and U.S. Latin American relations. His current research projects explore political and criminal violence in Latin America and their impact on democratic institutions and migration in the region. He also maintains interests in religion and politics, especially regarding issues of violence, disability, and race.
Selected Professional Awards/Activities/Grants and Fellowships
Director, Baylor Migration Project, Baylor University Social Innovation Collaborative; Awarded $12,500 (2017-2018) and $25,000 (2018-2019)
University Research Committee Small Grants Program, 2010-2011, “Terrorism in Colombia” ($4,250).
Chair, University Honor Council, 2015-2017; Vice-Chair, 2014-15, member 2013-present, alternate 2011-2013
President’s Advisory Council on Diversity, 2016-2018
Honors Residential College Advisory Board, 2011-present
Spiritual Life Advisory Committee, 2008-2015
The Retention of Underrepresented Student Groups ad hoc Committee, 2011
Manuscript reviewer for Social Science Quarterly, the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, the Journal of Church and State, The Latin Americanist, Oxford University Press, Terrorism and Political Violence
Board of Directors, World Hunger Relief, Inc, 2005-2011 (President, 2007-2008 and 2009-2011, Vice-President 2006-2007) and Chair of International Programs Committee 2008-2014.
Signatory of Ekklesia Project Declaration and member of the Board of Directors 2008-present.
Selected Research Articles and Book Chapters
Victor J. Hinojosa, “From Access to Communion: Beyond the Social Model” Journal of Disability and Religion22:2, April 2018.
Victor J. Hinojosa, “Negotiating Peace and Strengthening the State: Reducing Violence in Colombia” in Violence in the Americas, Hanna S. Kassab and Jonathan D. Rosen, eds. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2018: 71-82.
Victor J. Hinojosa, “Shifting Priorities and Engaging the Peace Process: U.S.-Colombian Relations in the Obama Era” in The Obama Doctrine in the Americas, Hanna S. Kassab and Jonathan D. Rosen, eds. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2016: pp.137-154.
Victor J. Hinojosa, “Christian Practices for the Journey Toward Shalom” in “Racism,” Christian Reflection, 2010
Andreas E. Feldmann and Victor J. Hinojosa, “Terrorism in Colombia: Logic and Sources of a Multidimensional and Ubiquitous Phenomenon.” Terrorism and Political Violence, 21:1,42-61, 2009.
Victor J. Hinojosa, “A Christological Social Science? Reflections from a Political Scientist on Future Directions in Mennonite-Anabaptist Peace Studies and Theology.” Mennonite Quarterly Review 81 (January 2007), 97-106.
Victor J. Hinojosa and Aníbal S. Pérez-Liñán, “Presidential Survival and the Impeachment Process: The United States and Colombia” Political Science Quarterly, 121:4, 653-675, 2006.
Victor J. Hinojosa and Jerry Z. Park, “Religion and the Paradox of Racial Inequality Attitudes,” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 43:2, 229-238, June 2004.
Victor J. Hinojosa and Aníbal S. Pérez-Liñán “The Politics of Survival: The Case of Colombia” in Checking Executive Power: Presidential Impeachment in Comparative Perspective, Jody C. Baumgartner and Naoko Kada, eds, Westport, CN: Praeger. 2003: pp. 65-79.
Book Reviews
Electing Not to Vote: Christian Reflections on Reasons for Not Voting. Ted Lewis, ed. Eugene, Or: Cascade. 2008. Conrad Grebel Review, Fall 2009.
Exiles in the Empire: Believer’s Church Perspectives on Politics. Nathan E. Yoder and Carol A. Sheppard, eds. Kitchener, Ont.: Pandora Press. 2006. Mennonite Quarterly Review, April 2008.
Loving Without Giving In: Christian Responses to Terrorism and Tyranny. By Ron Mock. Telford, Pa: Cascadia Publishing House. 2004. Mennonite Quarterly Review, July 2006.