Nora Hanagan has a PhD in political science. Her research and teaching interests include American political thought, contemporary democratic theory, and food politics. Her book—Democratic Responsibility: The Problem of Many Hands in American Political life— explains how historical American thinkers such as Jane Addams and Martin Luther King Jr.—might inform contemporary debates about responsibility. She has also published several articles about the ideas behind the Slow Food movement.

At UNC, Professor Hanagan teaches in both the political science and public policy departments. She also coordinates the Program for Public Discourse’s Abbey Speaker Series. Prior to joining UNC, Professor Hanagan served as Managing Director of the Duke Program in American Values and Institutions and taught at both Duke and the University of Wisconsin.