American Politics Workshop
Welcome to the website of the American Politics Workshop (APW) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Political Science. This workshop invites outside speakers, faculty members, and graduate students to present their work and obtain feedback from others in the discipline. This website contains information on the schedule and who to contact if you are interested in presenting at the workshop.
Our meetings are held in-person on Mondays from 12 to 1:15 PM in the Ogg Room (North Hall), unless otherwise specified.
Spring 2024 Schedule
If you are interested in joining the APW email list or presenting at APW in the 2023-2024 academic school year, please email:
Faculty Director: Kathy Cramer (kathy.cramer@wisc.edu) and/or
Graduate Student Coordinator: Isabel McMullen (imcmullen@wisc.edu).
January 29: Barry Burden
"Guardians at the Gates: Poll Worker Retention in a Challenging Election Environment"
Discussant: Matthew Kim
February 5: Matthew Kim
Draft prospectus: "State Competitiveness through State Parties"
Discussant: Veronica Judson
February 12: Marty Davidson: Co-sponsored with the Diversity, Equity, Justice, and Power Lecture Series.
"Keeping Up with the Joneses: When Should Civilians Call the Police?"
Discussant: Natalie Smith
February 19: Graduate student session:
Project and idea development workshop
February 26: Veronica Judson
Draft prospectus: "Disrupting the Electoral Landscape: How Representatives Respond to Change in Election Laws"
Discussant: Jacqueline Qiu
March 4: Ana Oaxaca (UW-Madison, current post-doc at UT-Austin). Co-sponsored with the Diversity, Equity, Justice, and Power Lecture Series.
"Is Local Immigrant Context a Pathway to Political Engagement? Insights from the 2018 Midterm Election Among Latinos and Whites"
March 8: Amber Boydston (UC Davis)
Co-sponsored with MEAD
March 11: Andrene Wright. Co-sponsored with the Diversity, Equity, Justice, and Power Lecture Series.
"Gender Ties and Racial Divides: Black Women Candidates and White Women’s Support"
Discussant: Larry Czeponis
March 18: Melanye Price (Prairie View A&M). Co-sponsored with the Diversity, Equity, Justice, and Power Lecture Series.
"Activism at the Intersection of Race and Youth"
Discussant: Isabel McMullen
April 1: Natalie Jones-Kerwin. Co-sponsored with the Diversity, Equity, Justice, and Power Lecture Series.
Exploring the Politics of Wisconsin Native Americans
Discussant: Fawziyah Laguide
April 15: Sarah Benesh (UW-Milwaukee)
"The Impact of a Single Decision: Testing Legitimacy’s Staying Power"
April 22: Pat Egan (NYU)
"Resolving Dissonance: How Trump’s Voters Come to Terms with His Objectionable Behavior"
Discussant: Jessie Munson
Fall 2023 Schedule
September 11: Introductory Session
September 18: Vince Hutchings (University of Michigan) Co-sponsored with the Diversity, Equity, Justice, and Power Lecture Series.
“If They Only Knew": Informing Blacks and Whites about the Racial Wealth Gap.
Discussant: Isabel McMullen
September 29: Scott Clifford (Texas A&M) Co-sponsored with MEAD
Varieties of Values: Moral Values are Uniquely Divisive
October 2 : Kennia Coronado (UW, post-doc at Penn) Co-sponsored with the Diversity, Equity, Justice, and Power Lecture Series.
Practice job talk
"The Construction of Latino Identity in Presidential Elections."
This talk will take place on Zoom, but everyone is welcome to come to the Ogg room as well. https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/99300704082
October 9: Rochelle Snyder
Practice job talk
"The Symbolic Representation of Constituent Correspondence in the U.S. Congress."
October 23: Ben Marquez Co-sponsored with Chican@ and Latin@ Studies and the Diversity, Equity, Justice, and Power Lecture Series.
"The Professionals: Latinx Advocacy in the Age of Grantmaking."
Talk is held in 422 North, but a virtual option is available: https://uwmadison.zoom.us/j/93655494922?pwd=TitwODAwbjZNZUJlUyt1akpxLzc3dz09
Discussant: Clint Rooker
November 6: Nathan Kalmoe
"How to Measure Public Support for Political Violence"
Discussant: Veronica Judson
November 17: Cigdem Sirin (University of Texas at El Paso)
Co-sponsored with MEAD
December 4: Jessica Trounstine (Vanderbilt) Co-sponsored with Diversity, Justice, Equity, and Power Lecture Series.
Disscussant: Jess Esplin