Associate Professorbthorpe@uw.edu CV (125.07 KB)Please contact via emailOffice Hours: M 1-3pm, by appt; Email for zoom linkFields of Interest American Political Development American Politics Crime and Criminality Housing Incarceration Justice Poverty Public Law Public Policy Quantitative Methods Background and ExperienceSummaryRebecca U. Thorpe is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Washington. Her research focuses on U.S. political institutions and state development, with an emphasis on the growth and fortification of American empire, mass suburbanization & urban gentrification, and the rise of expansive U.S. prison complex. Her first book, The American Warfare State: The Domestic Politics of Military Spending (University of Chicago Press, 2014), examines the development and persistence of a permanent U.S. military complex and growth in presidential power to launch military actions. She is currently working on a second book project examining how state interventions shaped the racial and spatial dimensions of poverty, violence and incarceration in post-World War II American society. Her work has received national recognition, including the American Political Science Association's Richard Neustadt Award for best book on executive politics in 2015, the D. B. Hardeman Award presented by the Lyndon B. Johnson Foundation for the best book on the US Congress in 2016, and APSA’s Heinz Eulau Award for the best article in Perspectives on Politics in 2016. Thorpe received her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Maryland in 2010. She was a Research Fellow at The Brookings Institution from 2008-2009. During the 2009-2010 academic year she worked on Capitol Hill as an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow. Research Publications, Articles Walker, Hannah L., Rebecca U. Thorpe, Emily K. Christensen, and J. P. Anderson. "The hidden subsidies of rural prisons: Race, space and the politics of cumulative disadvantage." Punishment & Society 19, no. 4 (2017): 393-416. Thorpe, Rebecca U. "Perverse Politics: The Persistence of Mass Imprisonment in the Twenty-first Century." Perspectives on Politics, Vol. 13, Issue 3, Sept. 2015, pp. 618-637. Thorpe, Rebecca U. "Urban Divestment, Rural Decline and the Politics of Mass Incarceration." The Good Society, Vol. 23, Number 1, 2014, pp. 17-29. Jim Gimpel, Frances Lee, and Rebecca Thorpe. “The Geographic Distribution of the Federal Stimulus of 2009." Political Science Quarterly, Winter (2012-2013). Jim Gimpel, Frances Lee, and Rebecca Thorpe. “The Wellsprings of Candidate Emergence: The Distinctive Origins of Statewide Candidates." Political Geography, February 2011. Rebecca Thorpe. “The Role of Economic Reliance in Defense Procurement Contracting.” American Politics Research, June 2010. Publications, Books Rebecca U. Thorpe. The American Warfare State: The Domestic Politics of Military Spending. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2014. Book Chapters W. McIntosh, M. Evans, S. Simon, and B. Thorpe. 2010. “Legal Mobilization and US Supreme Court Decision Making in Property and Civil Rights Cases, 1978-2003,” in Property Rights and Neo-Liberalism: Cultural Demands and Legal Actions, edited by W. McIntosh & L. Hatcher. Teaching Spring 2021 POL S 334 A: Topics In American Politics POL S 499 D: Undergraduate Readings and Research Winter 2021 POL S 499 D: Undergraduate Readings and Research POL S 555 A: American Politics Topics Autumn 2020 POL S 456 A: Institutional Failure POL S 499 D: Undergraduate Readings and Research Spring 2020 POL S 487 A: Political Science Honors Seminar POL S 499 D: Undergraduate Readings and Research Winter 2020 POL S 499 D: Undergraduate Readings and Research POL S 555 A: American Politics Topics - Course Website Autumn 2019 POL S 202 A: Introduction to American Politics - Course Website POL S 499 D: Undergraduate Readings and Research Spring 2019 POL S 499 D: Undergraduate Readings and Research Winter 2019 POL S 499 D: Undergraduate Readings and Research POL S 555 A: American Politics Topics Autumn 2018 POL S 202 A: Introduction to American Politics POL S 456 A: Institutional Failure POL S 499 D: Undergraduate Readings and Research Autumn 2017 POL S 499 D: Undergraduate Readings And Research Spring 2017 POL S 202 A: Introduction To American Politics POL S 499 D: Undergraduate Readings And Research Winter 2017 POL S 499 D: Undergraduate Readings And Research POL S 555 A: American Politics Topics Autumn 2016 POL S 355 A: The American Presidency POL S 499 D: Undergraduate Readings And Research News & Events Related News Video: Faculty Panel Session 3: A Turning Point? Impacts for Our Democracy Nov 3, 2020 Election 2020: A Turning Point? Aug 27, 2020 Faculty Perspectives on the George Floyd Protests Jun 4, 2020 Winter Faculty Panel: Communication Breakdown: The Crisis of Public (Dis)Information Jan 9, 2020 Three Faculty Panels address the impact of the 2016 Presidential Election in the US and Around the World Jun 29, 2017 The Department in the News Jun 28, 2017 A new form of corruption: Professors Smith & Thorpe address Trumpʼs Nordstrom Tweets on KUOW Feb 13, 2017 “Final Chance”: The Independent Interviews Professor Thorpe about Electoral College Vote Dec 18, 2016 What Now? Faculty Panel Discusses the 2016 Election & Its Aftermath Dec 3, 2016 FIUTS Lecture: Making Sense of the US Election Nov 10, 2016 Prof. Rebecca Thorpe wins Award for Article in Perspectives on Politics Sep 20, 2016 Understanding the Role of Religion in American Politics Jun 27, 2016 Retrospective: Faculty Discuss Race, Prisons & Protests with Students Jun 2, 2016 Rebecca Thorpe’s book ‘American Warfare State’ honored Mar 30, 2016 Prof. Thorpe Discusses the Impact of Rural Prison Economies on Mass Incarceration in LSE Blog Dec 9, 2015 Affiliated Centers: WISER is now WISIR Nov 18, 2015 Prof. Rebecca Thorpe in the Washington Post, Republicans and Democrats support sentencing reform. This is what stands in their way. Oct 5, 2015 Prof. Rebecca Thorpe in UW Today for her new book, The American Warfare State: The Domestic Politics of Military Spending Jun 30, 2014 Why Cutting Government Spending is So Hard: Perspectives on National Government Spending Apr 3, 2013 2011 Political Science News Summary Dec 31, 2011 Related Events Faculty Panel -- Election 2020: A Turning Point? Session 3: Impacts for Our Democracy - Oct 29 2020 - 6:00pm to 7:00pm Winter Faculty Panel Feb. 25th: Communication Breakdown: The Crisis of Public (Dis)Information - Feb 25 2020 - 4:45pm to 6:30pm The 2016 Election: What Now? - Nov 16 2016 - 4:30pm to 6:00pm Making Sense of the U.S. Elections - Nov 2 2016 - 3:30pm to 5:00pm Spring Political Science Faculty Panel: Police, Prisons & Protest - Apr 19 2016 - 4:30pm Share: Print PDF