Erica Simmons

Erica Simmons is a Professor of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, holding the Booth Fowler Professorship and a courtesy appointment in the Department of Sociology. She serves as Faculty Director of the International Studies Major and was awarded a 2023 Romnes Faculty Fellowship and the 2023 American Political Science Association David Collier Mid-Career Award for her work on qualitative methods.

She earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Chicago (2012), an M.P.P. from Harvard’s Kennedy School (2005), and an A.B. in Social Studies from Harvard College (1999). Her research focuses on contentious politics, particularly in Latin America, examining market reforms, political resistance, and social movements.

Simmons’ recent publications explore ethnographic approaches to contentious politics, comparative methods, and the impact of resource extraction on indigenous mobilization. Her work has been recognized with multiple Sage Paper Awards for qualitative methods, the Charles Tilly Book Award for 'Meaningful Resistance: Market Reforms and the Roots of Social Protest in Latin America' (2016), and grants from the National Science Foundation and Mellon Foundation.

Scientific Awards:

• 2023 Romnes Faculty Fellowship
• 2023 David Collier Mid-Career Award
• 2017 Charles Tilly Book Award
• 2017 APSA Science, Technology and Environmental Politics Best Article Award
• 2016-2017 Sage Paper Award
• 2012-2013 Martin Diskin Award
• 2010-2011 Mellon Fellowship

Her teaching includes courses on qualitative methods, contentious politics, and international studies. She co-edited 'Rethinking Comparison: Innovative Methods for Qualitative Political Inquiry' (2021) with Nicholas Rush Smith. Simmons’ research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Fulbright Commission, and Tinker Foundation.