John R. Baughman
Professor of Politics
Associations
Politics Department Chair
Pettengill Hall, Room 174
About
Harvard College (A.B., 1989); University of Chicago (M.A., 1995; Ph.D., 2000)
I am an Associate Professor of Politics, specializing in American politics. My research concerns the development of the U.S. Congress, with particular attention to the way members of the House reshaped the institution in order to respond to constituent demand. I am the author of Common Ground: Committee Politics in the U.S. House of Representatives (Stanford University Press, 2006), and my work has appeared in Public Choice, American Politics Research, and Studies in American Political Development. I am currently working on a project tentatively titled The People’s House: Representation and Responsiveness in the Antebellum House of Representatives and have related work underway on the institutional development of the early U.S. House of Representatives, focusing on the behavioral choices and adaptations of rank-and-file legislators in shaping the chamber’s structure.
The courses I teach cover both the study of American political institutions and inquiry into mass political behavior. A full list of my courses is below, and my current courses this semester are to the right.
Prior to coming to Bates, I served as a research fellow at the Brookings Institution, as well as on the staffs of U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and British Member of Parliament Rhodri Morgan.
My Courses:
- FYS452: Football, Fútbol, Soccer: The Local Politics of a Global Game
- PLTC115: U.S. Political Institutions and Processes
- PLTC211: U.S. Parties and Elections
- PLTC215: Political Participation in the U.S.
- PLTC230: The U.S. Congress
- PLTC310: Public Opinion
- PLTC328: Representation in Theory and Practice
- PLTCs23: Simulating the Legislative Process
Expertise
Current Courses
Fall Semester 2025
U.S. Parties and Elections
This course considers the origins, development, structures, activities, and functions of parties in the American political system. What role do political parties play in modern representative democracies like in the U.S.? Why do we have a system dominated by two major parties? How can we make sense …
Public Opinion
An analysis of controversies concerning the formation, nature, and role of public opinion in U.S. politics. How do we arrive at political judgments, and how do those judgments affect individual and collective decisions? How do our social positions and identities affect our judgments and decisions? H…
Senior Thesis
Discussion of methods of research and writing, oral reports, and regular individual consultation with instructors. Students undertake a one-semester thesis by registering for PLTC 457 in the fall semester. Majors writing an honors thesis register for both PLTC 457 and 458. Prerequisite(s): one 300-l…