Katherine Cramer, a professor of political science who focuses on public discourse and voter opinions, is one of five professors to be named a fellow of the American Association of Political and Social Science (AAPSS), a Philadelphia-based organization that supports research addressing that addresses public policy issues. Including the 2020 cohort, there are currently 140 AAPSS Fellows.
“I’m so proud to receive this recognition as a faculty member at UW-Madison,” says Cramer. “It’s affirmation that work inspired by the Wisconsin Idea that prioritizes listening to the public is valued by the broader academic community. I’m grateful that my job allows me to learn about public opinion in this way.”
Cramer, the Natalie C. Holton Chair of Letters & Science, has based her career on listening carefully to others. From 2007 to 2012, she toured Wisconsin and invited herself into the conversations of people in a wide variety of communities in the state to listen to their hopes and concerns. Her efforts led to the groundbreaking 2016 book The Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness and the Rise of Scott Walker, a tome that continues to inform political discussions in the leadup to the 2020 presidential election.
More recently, Cramer helped found the Local Voices Network, a national effort to improve public discourse by listening to, recording and sharing the concerns and viewpoints of underrepresented voices.
AAPSS Fellows include sociologists, political scientists, psychologists and economists, as well as scholars and practitioners in communications, education, government and public policy. Cramer is one of two political scientists to be selected this year, for her “innovative approach to the study of public opinion [which] has added depth to the analysis of voter attitudes.”
Cramer will travel to Washington, DC in October to participate in the AAPSS induction ceremony.