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Traci Burch

Traci Burch headshot

Research Professor

Joint appointment

Assistant Professor of Political Science, Northwestern University

Education

Ph.D., Government & Social Policy, Harvard University

Curriculum vitae

Bio

Traci Burch holds appointments as an Assistant Professor in Political Science at Northwestern University and a Research Professor at the American Bar Foundation. Her dissertation, Punishment and…

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Research focus

U.S. politics, political behavior, race and ethnic politics, criminal justice. Current research examines the effects of criminal convictions and incarceration on individual and neighborhood voter participation; changes in racial categorization as a result of intermarriage and immigration; and interest group participation in the Supreme Court.

Projects

Imprisonment and Neighborhood Political Participation
Latest finding: Mar 1, 2013
This project explores the impact of mass imprisonment and other aspects of the criminal justice system on political behavior. A book stemming from the project, entitled Punishment and Participation:…
Imprisonment and Neighborhood Political Participation
Latest finding: Oct 5, 2009
By 2007, more than 2.25 million people were in prison in the United States. In an election year where every vote counts and our political system seems poised for a dramatic change, it is imperative…

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Publications

"Can the New Commander-In-Chief Sustain His All Volunteer Standing Army?"
The Dubois Review: Social Science Research on Race
“American Politics and the Not-So-Benign Neglect of Criminal Justice”
Routledge
“Political Voice in an Age of Inequality”
University of Michigan Press

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Presentations

“Mass Incarceration and Voter Turnout”
Oct 2012
“Remarks on Studying Criminal Justice in Political Science”
May 2012
Turnout and Party Registration among Convicted Offenders during the 2008 Presidential Election
Nov 2009

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Professional Service & Recognition

  • American Political Science Association E.E. Schattschneider Award for Best Doctoral Dissertation in the field of American Government and Politics (2009)
  • American Political Science Association Willam Anderson Award
  • 2008 APSA Urban Section Best Dissertation in Urban Politics Award
  • Associate Editor, Law and Social Inquiry
  • Harvard University Toppan Prize for the best dissertation in political science
  • Institute for Quantitative Social Sciences Research Fellowship
  • Doctoral Fellow, Malcolm Weiner Center for Inequality and Social Policy
  • Member, Law and Society Association Diversity Committee

  • Northwestern University Legal Studies Faculty Advisory Board