Rachael Cobb, Assistant Professor

Rachael Vanessa Cobb

Assistant Professor of Government

 

Mailing Address
Suffolk University
8 Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108

 

Office Location
20 Ashburton Place, 2nd Floor, Room 206
Phone: 617.305.6380
Email: rcobb@suffolk.edu

 

Fields of Interest

  • American Politics
  • Interest group politics
  • American party politics
  • American political development
  • American public policy
  • Civic Engagement and Citizenship

Employment

  • Assistant Professor of Government, Suffolk University, 2006-Present
  • Visiting Professor of Government, Suffolk University, July 2005-May 2006

Education

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge MA
    Ph.D. Department of Political Science, 2006.
    Dissertation Title: “Do Parties Still Matter? The Politics of Gubernatorial Nominations.”
  • Bryn Mawr College. A.B., magna cum laude, high honors in Political Science, May 1995.

    Publications, Conference Papers, Presentations, and Invited Talks

    • “Disconnection and Reorganization: The Transformation of Civic Life in Late-20th-Century America” (with Theda Skocpol and Casey Klofstadt) Studies in American Political Development, Fall 2005.
    • “Explaining Endorsement Activity in Six States.” Paper presented at the American Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Sep. 2, 2004, Chicago and at the MIT Works in Progress Seminar, October, 2004.
    • “A new balance of power: interest groups and political parties in the American States, 1970-2000.” Paper presented at MIT’s Works in Progress Seminar, October 2003; Earlier version presented at Harvard University American Politics Research Workshop, September 2002.
    • “What Elite Data Can Tell Us About American Civic Life: Associational Affiliations of Massachusetts State Senators, 1900-2000.” Paper presented at the Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Apr. 24-28, 2002, and the American Political Science Association National Meeting, San Francisco, Aug. 30-Sep. 2, 2001 with Theda Skocpol and Casey Klofstad.
    • “The Yard Sign’s Role in Local Elections: Preliminary Findings.” Paper presented at the MIT American Politics seminar series. Cambridge, MA., April 5, 2000.
    • “Unionizing the Homecare Workers of Los Angeles County.” Paper presented at the Subcontracted Work Initiative Forum, Washington, D.C., Nov. 18-19, 1999.
    • Panel discussant, “Social Capital and Political History,” American Political Science Association National Meeting, Boston MA, Aug. 29-Sep.1, 2002.
    • Panelist, “Struggling to Change: New Labor Strategies for a New Economy,” at the MIT Institute for Work and Employment Research Symposium on Changing Employment Relations and New Institutions of Representation, Cambridge, MA, May 25-26, 1999.

    Courses Taught

    • GVT 110 - Introduction to American Government
    • GVT H110 - Honors Introduction to American Government
    • GVT 120 - Introduction to Research Methods
    • GVT 223 - American Politics and Institutions
    • GVT 436/631 - Topics in Public Policy: The Politics of Privatization
    • GVT 315/615 - Labor and Politics
    • GVT 776 - Advanced Research Methods for Professional Politics
    • SF 101 - Inequality and Democracy:  From the Local to the International

    Links

     

    Undergraduate Research Journals

    Helpful Writing Links

    Websites On Expository Writing In Political Science

    Studying Congress

    Studying the Presidency

    Studying the Supreme Court

    Electoral College

    About the 50 States

    Elections in American Politics

    Income Inequality