Research in Political Science (RiPS) is the political science department's weekly research brownbag. Scholars present ongoing research on topics covering all areas of political science and related fields.
Format
RiPS presentations follow two formats. Attendees are asked to come to the RiPS meeting having read any materials circulated in advance and to be prepared with questions/feedback for the presenter(s).
- Memo. A 1-2 page memo detailing a specific area or obstacle on which the presenter is seeking feedback. Memos will be disseminated on Mondays prior to the RiPS meeting, which will feature two memos for a half-hour each.
- Working Paper. A working paper, draft book/dissertation chapter, or similar product. The meeting begins with a 10-12 minute conference-style presentation before proceeding to Q&A for the remainder of the hour. Working papers will be disseminated on Fridays prior to the RiPS meeting.
Graduate Student Presenters
Graduate students funded by the department who are beyond their first year are added to our regular rotation of presenters. Graduate students are encouraged to register for course credit for their RiPS participation (POLS 892, be sure to register for the correct section).
Current Semester Schedule
RiPS meets most Wednesdays during the academic year at 12:30 p.m. in Oldfather 538.
Spring 2024
| Date | Presenters |
| 1/24 | John Jostes and Alejandra Vasquez |
| 1/31 | Sophia Stockham |
| 2/7 | Zeenat Ahmed and Farooq Mujaddidi |
| 2/14 | Sukjae Lee, "Ambivalent Appeals: Republican State Legislators, Electoral Vulnerability, and Climate Change Legislation" |
| 2/21 | Joseph Maestas, "The Weaponization of Deepening Commitments" |
| 2/28 | Ross Miller, "Looks that Kill: Facial Metrics and Military Conflict, 1947-2010" |
| 3/6 | Fatima Aigbomian, "Human Rights Regime in West Africa: The Case of ECOWAS and the Journey to Nigeria’s Fourth Republic" |
| 3/13 | Spring Break (No RiPS) |
| 3/20 | MPSA/ISA Previews: Noah Schimenti, Alejandra Vasquez, and Sophia Stockham |
| 3/27 | MPSA/ISA Previews: Fatima Aigbomian and Zeenat Ahmed |
| 4/3 | Out for MPSA/ISA |
| 4/10 | Geoff Lorenz, “Taking Sides: Mission Creep Among American Organized Interests, 1973-2017.” |
| 4/17 | Dona-Gene Barton, "When Election News Supply Overwhelms Voters: Perceived Election News Overload and Active Election News Avoidance." |
| 4/24 | Tyler White |
| 4/29* |
Cheryl Boudreau (UC Davis), "Capital Influence: Endorsements and Donations to Political and Charitable Recipients" (with Scott A. MacKenzie) * RiPS this week will meet on Monday 4/29 rather than Wednesday 5/1. |
| 5/8 | First Year Presentations |
Past Schedules
Fall 2023
| Date | Presenters |
| 9/6 | Welcome back; Introductions; Organization |
| 9/13 | Alice Kang, "Gender and Children's Perceptions of Leadership in Nigeria" (with Adebusola Okedele and Jill Greenlee) |
| 9/20 | Taylor Gold, "The impact of complexity and heuristic incongruence between self-interest and party indentification in ballot measure environments" (with Alex Hall and Beth Theiss-Morse) |
| 9/27 | Courtney Hillebrecht, "Mitigating Backlash and Promoting Cooperation: The ICC Beyond the Courtroom" (with Brian D. Greenhill) |
| 10/4 | Noah Schimenti, "Anti-system CSOs and Opposition Legislative Seat Share in Electoral Authoritarian Regimes" |
| 10/11 | Makayla Wendland, “Introducing the Tracking of Terrorist Organization Splintering (TOTOS) Dataset” |
| 10/18 | Joseph Maestas, "Deepening Commitments to International Law: Typology of State Actions and Treaties" |
| 10/25 | Makayla Wendland & Noah Schimenti; Beth Theiss-Morse |
| 11/1 | Ingrid Haas, "Ideology & Risk: the Neuroscience of Nuclear Reversal" (with Noelle Troutman and Rupal Mehta) |
| 11/8 | Rachel Urban, "Another Russia" |
| 11/15 | Dona-Gene Barton, TBA |
| 11/22 | Thanksgiving (No RiPS) |
| 11/29 | Susie Pratt & Brianna Martinez |
| 12/6 | John Jostes & Fatima Aigbomian |
Contact
Faculty coordinator Dr. Geoff Lorenz can add you to the RiPS listserv and answer questions.