Lupu analyzes Latin American political parties

October 9th 2013 Simon Kuran
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With parents from Argentina and Chile, Noam Lupu grew up in a household rife with talk about Latin American politics. Those discussions laid the framework for his academic path, though it wasn't until he studied abroad in Madrid, Spain, and took a course on contemporary Spanish politics that he decided to concentrate on political science.

Lupu, who joined the Department of Political Science as an assistant professor and Trice Faculty Scholar this fall, researches public opinion and political parties, with a particular focus on Latin America. He comes to UW-Madison after serving as a junior research fellow at the Juan March Institute in Madrid.

We asked Lupu about his research plans, living in Madrid, and more.

Lupu Lupu

Q: Tell us more about your research interests.
A: My current book project looks at how the dilution of party brands eroded partisan attachments in Latin America and facilitated the collapse of established parties. Another ongoing project looks at how inequality affects voters’ preferences for redistribution and evaluations of the economy. I am also working on a project that examines how class backgrounds affect the behavior of both voters and legislators.

Q: Why are you most excited to be at UW-Madison?
A: I’m excited about joining such an excellent department within a great university, and also an active community of students and scholars interested in Latin America. I’m heading up a team of researchers looking to field a large-scale survey in Argentina in 2015, so I hope to take particular advantage of the resources at the UW Survey Center for help with that.

Q: What courses will you teach?
A: This fall, I’m teaching a lecture course on Latin American politics and in the spring, I’ll be teaching a seminar on comparative political parties.

Q: What is your teaching approach?
A: I try to make my classes fun and eclectic. I often discuss political events like revolutions or transitions to democracy or economic crises, but in the classroom it’s easy to forget that these vague concepts have real consequences for millions of people in the real world. So I try to incorporate first-person accounts, music, or videos into my lectures to give students a glimpse of what these events mean for the people who experience them on the ground.

Q: What was the highlight of living in Madrid?
A: My wife and I had a baby boy, Lucas, while we were in Madrid, so that was a major highlight. We also got to explore several beautiful regions in Spain, like the Basque Country and Extremadura.

Q: What’s the best book you've read recently?
A: I’m currently reading Jeremy Adelman’s fascinating biography of Albert Hirschman, “Worldly Philosopher.”

To meet more new faculty members, see our full list of Q&As.