Junior Americanist Workshop Series (JAWS)
A virtual workshop for American politics research.
Junior Americanist Workshop Series
A virtual workshop for American politics research.
Mission
The Junior Americanist Workshop Series aims to provide an alternative opportunity for junior scholars (ABD grad students, post docs, and pre-tenure faculty) who study American politics (behavior or institutions) to present and get feedback on their work and to network with other scholars with similar interests. While we focus on showcasing work from junior scholars, we welcome everyone (all ages/ranks/experience levels) to attend our events!
Spring 2026 Sign Up
Use this Google form to apply to present your work, volunteer as a discussant, and/or sign up for our email list for the Spring 2026 semester! Sign up here!
Format
The workshop provides the opportunity for junior Americanist scholars to present their work and receive feedback. Our current research workshop format is 90 minutes per session featuring 2 papers, each of which is allotted 45 minutes. In each 45 minute block, authors present their paper for 20-25 minutes, discussants offer comments for 5-10 minutes, and the balance of the time is reserved for audience questions.
In addition to article-length manuscripts, we also encourage the submission of well-developed pre-analysis plans and research designs. Submissions may be solo-authored or collaborative; if the submission is collaborative, we will give preference to those with junior scholars as coauthors.
We will try to match up discussants with papers based on subject area expertise to the best of our ability. If you have a dream discussant you’d like for your paper, please tell us and we will do our best to make it happen!
Please note: We strongly encourage participants to read the presenters’ papers in advance of the session. We will circulate these papers via email at least one week in advance of the session. We will allocate at least 10-15 minutes to audience Q & A after each presentation to provide an opportunity for you to share feedback.
Spring 2026 Research Workshop Schedule
All Spring 2026 JAWS workshops will be held on Wednesdays, 1:00-2:30pm Eastern Time unless otherwise noted.
January 21–Voting and Elections
- Anna Mikkelborg, “Ready or Not? Analyzing the intersection of race, gender, and partisanship across 24 candidate choice conjoint experiments”
- Alex Snipes, Which Extremist Nominees Are Punished? Evaluating the Effect of Ideology and Gender in General Elections
- Register Here
February 18: Coalitions in Congress
- Jacob Ausubel, “Strategic Silence: Why Republican Politicians Avoided Making Statements about the 2020 Elections”
- Andre Van Parys, “The Shadow of Influence: Agenda Setting, Vote Buying, and Legislative Coalitions”
- Register Here
March 4: Public Opinion
- Daniella P. Alva, “The Role of Personal Experience in Uncovering and Shifting Inequality Beliefs and its Link to Inequality Attitudes and Redistribution”
- Eric G. Scheuch, “From Impact to Attitude: Untangling the Mechanisms Between Climate Shocks and Climate Attitudes”
- Register Here
March 18: Executive Politics
- Karla Magana, “Racialization and Perceived Institutional Ideology” (with Devin Judge-Lord)
- Lauren Mattioli, “Appointments and Influence: Judicial Agenda Setting Across Three Presidential Administrations”
- Register Here
April 1: State and Local Elections
- Zach Baum, “When QTPOC Run, QTPOC Win: Intersectional Ambition and the Fight for State Legislative Power in America”
- Joshua Ferrer, “Partisanship in Local Bureaucratic Appointments: Evidence from Election Administration”
- Register Here
April 15: Identity in Congress
- Isaiah C. Johnson, “Measuring Racial Competence with Machine Learning: Evidence from Congressional Committees”
- Songeun Emily Lee, “What Longer Survival Conceals: Race and Women’s Congressional Tenure”
- Register Here
May 6: Endorsements and Interest Groups
- Irene Barrios, “The Allyship Gap: Racial Trust and Representation in the Aftermath of Black Lives Matter”
- Jack Eicholz, “Primed for Success: Party Elite Endorsement Effects in House Primary Elections”
- Register Here
Contact Us
Please reach out to any one of the organizing committee with any comments or questions at jawspolisci@gmail.com
Chief Organizer:
- David Miller (American University)
Associate Organizers:
- Raquel Centeno (California Institute of Technology)
- Amanda Sahar d’Urso (Georgetown University)
- SoRelle Wyckoff Gaynor (University of Virginia)
Organization Board Members:
- Erin Cikanek (Cornell University)
- Gabriel Foy-Sutherland (APSA Congressional Fellow)
- Hillary Style (Coastal Carolina University)
- Laura Uribe (University of California, San Diego)
Emeritus Organizers:
- Austin Bussing (Trinity University)
- Leah Christiani (Hunter College)
- Zander Furnas (Northwestern University)
- Christina Ladam (University of Oklahoma)
- Josh McCrain (University of Utah)
- Rachel Porter (University of Notre Dame)