Ryan Williamson
Ryan Williamson, an assistant professor at the University of Wyoming, will give this
year’s Sandeen Lecture in Humanities at 4 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8, in the Business Building’s
Scarlett Auditorium.
Williamson, a member of UW’s School of Politics, Public Affairs and International
Studies faculty, has titled his lecture “Redrawing Trust: Citizens’ Views on Gerrymandering
and Democratic Legitimacy.”
Electoral map-making shapes whose voice is heard and who receives power. Scholars
track how map-making reshapes representation, while ordinary voters experience and
theorize its effects in their everyday lives. This year’s lecture will reveal how
perceptions of gerrymandering alter citizens’ interactions with institutions and undermine
fair, transparent map-making and acceptance of results. Williamson will illustrate
his points through national surveys and experiments and look at flash points such
as the Texas and California showdown. He also will address how well-designed independent
commissions can help “make better losers,” rebuild civic trust and stabilize democratic
life.
“This research demonstrates that perceptions of partisan gerrymandering significantly
influence citizens’ trust in, and satisfaction with, democratic institutions,” Williamson
says. “In an era of high polarization and intense political animosity, these findings
underscore the critical importance of institutional design in fostering public confidence,
reducing distrust and reinforcing the legitimacy of democratic processes amid intense
political divisions.”
Williamson joined UW’s faculty in 2023. Before coming to the university, he spent
time in Washington, D.C., working as a congressional fellow in the U.S. Senate Committee
on Rules and Administration. He also worked as a governance fellow at a think tank
focused on institutional reforms designed to increase efficiency and effectiveness
in Congress and elections.
Williamson’s primary areas of expertise include electoral politics, legislative politics
and public policy. His research on these topics includes published work in the Journal
of Politics; Political Research Quarterly; Electoral Studies; State Politics and Policy
Quarterly; and the Election Law Journal.
Williamson recently published a book titled “Nationalized Politics: Evaluating Electoral
Politics Across Time.” A second book, “Divided Nation: Analyzing Policy, Behavior,
and Institutional Challenges in Modern American Democracy,” is on its way.
The Sandeen Lecture in the Humanities is named after Eric Sandeen, founding director
of the Wyoming Institute for Humanities Research. The Sandeen Lecture in Humanities
is given annually in December at the beginning of finals week. Faculty fellows at
the institute’s Humanities Research Group vote to decide which fellow will deliver
the lecture.
For more information, email the Wyoming Institute for Humanities Research at humanities@uwyo.edu.
