Eric Oliver is Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. His research examines how people understand politics and how their social environments, intuitions, and beliefs shape democratic life. His work spans public opinion, political psychology, urban and suburban politics, racial attitudes, conspiracy theories, and the politics of science.

He is the author of Democracy in Suburbia (2001), Fat Politics: The Real Story Behind America’s Obesity Epidemic (2005), The Paradoxes of Integration: Race, Neighborhood, and Civic Life in Multi-Ethnic America (2010), and Local Elections and the Politics of Small-Scale Democracy (2012). With Thomas Wood, he coauthored Enchanted America: How Intuition and Reason Divide Our Politics (2018), which explores the role of intuitive and supernatural beliefs in American political life. His latest book, How to Know Your Self: The Art and Science of Discovering Who You Really Are (2026), draws on neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy to examine the nature of the self and the possibilities of self-knowledge.

His current research investigates how political myths, symbols, and rituals shape collective identities, sustain authority, and organize political action. His teaching includes courses on political psychology, the evolution of political consciousness, myth and ritual in politics, and self-knowledge. He also hosts the podcast Knowing with Eric Oliver.

Oliver received his B.A. from Wesleyan University and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.