Sean M. Theriault

CV Contents:
Education
Honors, Awards, and Grants
Teaching Awards
Publications
Conference Presentations
Teaching
Service

(Click here to download a pdf version of my c.v. -- it may be more recent than this version)

Academic Positions

2001-present Assistant Professor, Department of Government, University of Texas at Austin. Fellowship appointment to the J.J. “Jake” Pickle Regents Chair in Congressional Studies.

Education

1996-2001 Stanford University (CA)
Ph.D. in Political Science, June 2001.
M.A. in Political Science, June 2000.
Dissertation: “Congress and the Power of the People.”
Committee: Barry R. Weingast (chair), Roger Noll (outside chair), David W. Brady, Morris P. Fiorina, Simon Jackman, and Terry Moe.

1994-1996 University of Rochester (NY)
M.S. in Public Policy Analysis.

1990-1993 University of Richmond (VA)
B.A. in Political Science.

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Honors, Awards, and Grants

2005-2006 $6,000 grant from the Vice President for Research, The University of Texas at Austin. Supervised 6 students who are researching party polarization in the U.S. Congress. The grant covers travel expenses, supplies, and incidental miscellaneous expenses.

Spring 2005 Faculty Research Assignment, The University of Texas at Austin. The award grants me a release from teaching for one semester.

2004-2005 $7,600 grant from the Vice President for Research, The University of Texas at Austin. Supervised 9 students who are researching party polarization in the U.S. Congress. The grant covers travel expenses, supplies, and incidental miscellaneous expenses.

2004 Subvention Grant from the Vice President for Research, the University of Texas at Austin. The $4,378 helped pay for the production of The Power of the People.2004 Summer Research Assignment, The University of Texas at Austin. The grant was awarded for my “hard work and dedication to the University” and includes two months of summer salary.

2003-2004 $10,000 grant from the Vice President for Research, The University of Texas at Austin. Supervised a group of 10 students who are researching party polarization in the U.S. Congress. The grant covers travel expenses, supplies, and incidental miscellaneous expenses.

2002-2003 $6,000 grant from the Vice President for Research, The University of Texas at Austin. Supervised a group of 6 students who are researching major legislation in Congress since World War II. The grant covers travel expenses, supplies, and incidental miscellaneous expenses.

2002 $5,500 grant from the Public Policy Clinic at the University of Texas at Austin. Grant was awarded to hire summer research assistants for the Lawmaking in the Modern Congress Project.

2001-2002 $14,400 grant from the Vice President for Research, The University of Texas at Austin. Supervised a group of 33 students who are researching major bill failures in Congress since World War II. The grant covers travel expenses, supplies, and incidental miscellaneous expenses.

2001 $12,000 grant from the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Stanford University. Supervised a group of 10 students who conducted work on major pieces of legislation enacted since World War II. Grant covered summer salaries and miscellaneous expenses.

2000 Pi Sigma Alpha Award. Awarded by the Midwest Political Science Association for the best paper delivered at the 1999 Annual Meeting (co-authored with Paul Sniderman).

2000 Graduate Research Opportunity, Grant Recipient. Offered by the Dean of the Arts and Sciences, Stanford University.

2000 Social Science History Institute at Stanford University, Grant Recipient.
1998 Lily M. and Henry J. Budde Fellowship. Awarded by the Political Science Department, Stanford University.

1996 Best Graduate Student Paper Award at the New York Political Science Association Annual Meeting.

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Teaching Awards

Spring 2006 Recipient, President’s Associates Teaching Excellence Award

Spring 2006 Finalist, Friar Centennial Teaching Fellowship

Spring 2006 Government Department Nominee, Harry Ransom Teaching Award Spring 2005 Recipient, Eyes of Texas Teaching Excellence Award. Named by an anonymous student organization, the Eyes of Texas, as one of ten outstanding faculty members and administrators.

Spring 2003 Government Department Nominee, Dad's Teaching Award.

Spring 2002 Nominee, Friar Centennial Teaching Fellowship.

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“Women in Congress: From Entry to Exit” (with Jennifer L. Lawless) in Women in Politics: Outsiders or Insiders, Fourth Edition, Louis Duke Whitaker (ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. 2005.

“Party Polarization in Congress,” Manuscript, Department of Government, University of Texas, Austin, 2006.

“Party Polarization in the U.S. Congress,” Working Paper, Department of Government, University of Texas, Austin, 2006.

“Procedural Polarization in the U.S. Congress,” Working Paper, Department of Government, University of Texas, Austin, 2006.

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Invited Paper and Conference Presentations

May 2006 Duke University PIPC Book Seminar (Durham, NC)
“Party Polarization in the U.S. Congress”

March 2006 Emory University Speaker Series (Atlanta, GA)
“Procedural Polarization in Congress”

March 2006 University of Wisconsin American Political Development Workshop (Madison, WI)
“Procedural Polarization in Congress”

March 2006 University of Nebraska Speaker Series (Lincoln, NE)
“Procedural Polarization in Congress”

November 2005 Stanford University Speaker Series
“Party Polarization in Congress”

November 2005 University of Michigan Speaker Series
“Party Polarization in Congress”

October 2005 Rice University Speaker Series (Houston, TX)
“Party Polarization in Congress”

October 2005 Southern Methodist University Speaker Series (Dallas, TX)
“Party Polarization in Congress”

May 2005 Congress and History Workshop (Washington University, St. Louis, MO)
“Procedural Polarization in Congress and the Power of the People”

November 2004 Integrating Research into Undergraduate Education: The Value Added (Washington, DC)
“Applying Principles of Learning in Diverse Undergraduate Education Settings.”

April 2004 University of Houston American Politics Speaker Series (Houston, TX)
“The Case of the Vanishing Moderates: Party Polarization in the Modern Congress.”

December 2003 The History of Congress III (San Diego, CA)
"The Origins of an Electoral Strategy: Federalists and Republicans during the Louisiana Purchase"

February 2003 The Louisiana Purchase and American Expansion: A Bicentennial Symposium” (Austin, TX).
Discussant of Peter Onuf’s “Thomas Jefferson and the Politics of the Moment”

February 2003 Texas A&M Friday Brown Bag Series (College Station, TX).
“The Case of the Vanishing Moderates.”

August 2000 The Citizens’ Research Foundation Summer Workshop on Money and Influence in Politics (Berkeley, CA).
“The Modern History of Campaign Finance Reform.”

January 1999 The History of Congresss II (Stanford, CA)
“Agenda Manipulation, Strategic Voting, and Legislative Details in the Compromise of 1850” (with Barry R. Weingast)

October 1998 Hendricks Symposium on Public Dissatisfaction with Government in the United States (Lincoln, NE).
“A Reassessment of Who's to Blame: A Positive Case for the Public Evaluation of Congress” (with David W. Brady).

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Conference Presentations

April 2006 Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Chicago, IL).
“Procedural Polarization in Congress”

September 2005 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Washington, DC).
“Party Polarization in Congress”

April 2005 Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Chicago, IL).
“The Institutional Explanation for Party Polarization in Congress”

September 2004 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Chicago, IL).
“Party Polarization in Congress: Member Replacement or Member Adaptation?”

April 2004 Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Chicago, IL).
“The Case of the Vanishing Moderates: Party Polarization in the Modern Congress”

September 2003 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Philadelphia, PA).
“Three Arguments to Temper Your View of Congressional Polarization.”

April 2003 Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Chicago, IL).
“The Case of the Vanishing Moderates”
“Career Ceilings and Women’s Retirement from the U.S. Congress: Will She Stay or Will She Go?” (with Jennifer Lawless)

March 2003 Western Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Denver, CO).
“The Case of the Vanishing Moderates.”

November 2002 Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Savannah, GA).
“Lawmaking in the Modern Congress: Where and How Legislation Dies.”

September 2002 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Boston, MA).
“Lawmaking in the Modern Congress: Getting on the Legislative Agenda.”

May 2002 Policy History Conference (St. Louis, MO).
“Parties-in-the-Electorate: Federalists and Republicans during the Louisiana Purchase.”

April 2002 Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Chicago, IL).
“The Success (and Failure) of the Congressional Term Limits Movement.”

September 2001 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (San Francisco, CA).
“Patronage, the Pendleton Act, and the Power of the People.”

April 2001 Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Chicago, IL).
“Patronage, the Pendleton Act, and People.”
“Which Senators Receive Media Coverage and Why?” (with David W. Brady).

September 2000 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Washington, DC).
“Patronage, the Pendleton Act, and the Power of the People.”
“The Impact of National News Media Exposure and Ideological Extremity upon U.S. Senate Campaign Contributions” (with David W. Brady).

July 2000 APSA Political Methodology Section Summer Conference (Los Angeles, CA).
“Patronage, the Pendleton Act, and the Power of the People.”

April 2000 Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Chicago, IL).
“Patronage, the Pendleton Act, and People.”
“Which Senators Receive Media Coverage and Why?” (with David W. Brady).

March 2000 Western Political Science Association Annual Meeting (San Jose, CA).
“Patronage, the Pendleton Act, and People.”
“The Consequences of the Ideological Cat Fight” (with David W. Brady).

September 1999 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Atlanta, GA).
“The Politics of Protection: How Competition Restrains Political Exploitation.”

April 1999 Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Chicago, IL).
“Do Decision Rules Matter? An Evaluation of Strategies Invoked by Public Officials.”
“The Dynamics of Political Argument and the Logic of Issue Framing” (with Paul M. Sniderman).
Received the Pi Sigma Alpha Award for the Meeting’s Best Paper.
“Exploitation, Competition, and the Incumbency Advantage.”

March 1999 Western Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Seattle, WA).
“Exploitation, Competition, and the Incumbency Advantage.”

January 1999 History of Congress Conference (Stanford, CA).
“Agenda Manipulation, Strategic Voting, and Legislative Details in the Compromise of 1850” (with Barry R. Weingast).

September 1998 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Boston, MA).
“Exploitation, Competition, and the Incumbency Advantage.”

September 1997 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Washington, DC).
“Bargaining with the Congressional Black Caucus: The Causes and the Consequences of Racially Bloc Voting.”

April 1996 New York Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Ithaca, NY).
“Calling it Quits: Voluntary Retirement from the House of Representatives in 1992.”
Received the Best Graduate Student Paper Award.

April 1993 Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting (Chicago, IL).
“Presidential Announcement Addresses: Campaign Strategies and Voting Behavior” (with Daniel J. Palazzolo). 

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Teaching Experience

Spring 2006 Taught the U.S. Congress (GOV 370L and GOV 370L-W). Two sections (one writing component) with a total of 155 students.

Fall 2005 Taught the Politics of Marginalized Groups (GOV 312L) with 196 students and a Liberal Arts Honors: Party Polarization in the United States (LAH 350 and GOV 379S) with 22 students.

Summer 2005 Taught the U.S. Congress (GOV 370L) with 125 students.

Fall 2004 Taught Congressional Elections (GOV 312L) with 185 students and Congressional Elections-Writing Component (GOV 370L) with 30 students.

Spring 2004 Taught U.S. Congress (GOV 370L and GOV 370L-W). Two sections (one writing component) with a total of 155 students.

Fall 2003 Taught Representative Democracy in America (GOV 310) with 300 students and Scope and Methods with 20 graduate students.

Summer 2002 Taught U.S. Congress (GOV 370L-W), a substantial writing component course with 35 students.

Spring 2003 Taught the Politics of Marginalized Groups (GOV 312) with 160 students and Scope and Methods with 25 graduate students.

Fall 2002 Taught Congressional Elections (GOV 370L and GOV 370L-W). Two sections (one writing component) with a total of 100 students.

Summer 2002 Taught U.S. Congress (GOV 370L-W), a substantial writing component course with 30 students.

Spring 2002 Taught Issues in Congress (GOV 312) with 160 students and the U.S. Congress for graduate students (GOV 381) with 8 students.

Fall 2001 Taught U.S. Congress (GOV 370L). Two sections with a total of 118 students.

Fall 2000 Co-taught (with Dave Brady) an undergraduate lecture class, Campaigns 2000.

1999-2000 Graduate Mentor and Sophomore Advisor Stanford Undergraduates.

Spring 1998 Teaching Assistant for Politics by Numbers taught by Simon D. Jackman.

Winter 1998 Head Teaching Assistant for Intermediate Statistics taught by Simon D. Jackman.

Spring 1996 Teaching Assistant for Public Policy Modeling taught by Andrew W. Dick.

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