Defended my dissertation this morning!! Incredibly happy to be finished with this project I’ve been working on for years. Look for more from me on “Fig Leaves or Fortresses: Nonpartisan Politics in a Polarized Time” sometime in the future!

Excited to share my latest publication out today at Theory and Social Inquiry! I use tools from cultural sociology to study the performance of nonpartisanship in local government. Check it out!: www.theoryandsocialinquiry.org/article/id/1...

Building a Broken Wall: Small Cities, Nonpartisanship, and Polarization

Nonpartisanship has been a core element of U.S. local governments for over a century. Today, these institutions face a new challenge as polarization has grown more intense, intimate, and ideological. ...

theoryandsocialinquiry.org

Katherine Jensen, @bwitkovsky.bsky.social, and Monika Krause's article, “Human Rights as a Lay Category of Thought,” was the featured Socius article in the ASA Journals Newsletter. Listen to the accompanying podcast about the article here. www.asanet.org/publications... @asanews.bsky.social

Podcasts | American Sociological Association

Each month, several authors of articles published in ASA journals record podcasts in which they provide, through an interview format, an overview of their

asanet.org

As Jess says, @sadiemdempsey.bsky.social’s incredible work on the social and emotional dimensions of political participation is going to be critical to rebuilding our movements going forward!

Jess Calarco@jessicacalarco.com · 12mo ago

In an ethnographic study of youth political organizations, one of my PhD students found that the primary driver of engagement wasn't concern about particular issues but rather the chance to do something fun together with friends (eg, make posters for rallies, or go to meetings with free food).

Fascinating work in the WWI era on the weaponization of this new nonpartisanship. Nonpartisanship is a "capacious category and can be exploited by different actors."

@uwsoc.bsky.social team @bwitkovsky.bsky.social and Carter Burg present on the production of nonpartisanship in Prog Era Wisc. Benny's dissertation sheds even more light on how "nonpartisan local governance was always the product of political parties, partisan conflict, and partisan institutions."

Another outstanding @asapolisoc.bsky.social panel on Electoral Politics. #asa2025

In the aftermath of the Minnesota attacks, how can communities respond to the growing threat of political violence? @samajones.bsky.social and Roudabeh Kishi offer a range of ideas, from expanding access to security funding to collaborative threat monitoring www.justsecurity.org/114944/minne...

How Communities Can Respond to Threats of Political Violence

Left unchecked, political violence will continue to pose a significant danger to community safety and the health of America’s democracy.

justsecurity.org

Cooperation agreements between Wisconsin Counties and ICE have nearly doubled since Trump's second inauguration. (In other news, I'm learning how to use Tableau).

💬 How do people think about #HumanRights? New #Socius research by Drs. Jensen, Krause, and @bwitkovsky.bsky.social finds #freedom of speech as a cognitive prototype, with civil & political rights leading in the U.S. Key insights for #CognitiveSociology: doi.org/10.1177/2378...

Interesting article on the perceptions of human rights. Studying the meanings of human rights for ordinary individuals is absolutely necessary for transnational advocacy.

Benny Witkovsky@bwitkovsky.bsky.social · last yr.

New publication out today in @sociusjournal.bsky.social! In " Human Rights as a Lay Category of Thought," Katherine Jensen, Monika Krause, and I map how the American public think about what counts as a human right. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

New publication out today in @sociusjournal.bsky.social! In " Human Rights as a Lay Category of Thought," Katherine Jensen, Monika Krause, and I map how the American public think about what counts as a human right. journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Human Rights as a Lay Category of Thought: Content and Structure in the United States - Katherine Jensen, Monika Krause, Benjamin Witkovsky, 2025

What are human rights? Although legal scholars point to a growing list of international entitlements, social scientists have highlighted underlying ideological ...

journals.sagepub.com

So happy this paper accepted to ASA! Get ready to hear all about a 1912 special election for Racine City Council and Progressive Era conflicts over nonpartisanship!

Benny Witkovsky@bwitkovsky.bsky.social · last yr.

Just submitted a paper to ASA co-authored with an undergrad and they were SO excited. Definitely the energy I needed this week.

Working with Wisconsin Humanities the last few years has been such an honor. I don't know another organization with such deep commitments to serving, representing, and sharing the stories of every community in our state. Defunding humanities councils is such a self-destructive move.

NPR@npr.org · last yr.

A majority of NEH employees received an email placing them on immediate leave. The news comes just days after many humanities councils across the country were told their grants would be terminated.

I am thrilled to share that I’ve accepted a position as the Wisconsin State Lead/Senior Research Specialist at the Bridging Divides Initiative at Princeton University. Feeling incredibly lucky to get to do this work while still living in and serving the state that I love!

My recent paper provides a particular lens on the upcoming local elections in Wisconsin. Candidates for county office must contend with the increasing polarization between their rural and urban constituents.

UW-Madison Sociology@uwsoc.bsky.social · last yr.

Benny Witkovsky (@bwitkovsky.bsky.social) published "Cities and Their Neighbors: Examining Rural-Urban Polarization on A Local Scale" in @urbanaffairsreview.bsky.social. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Benny Witkovsky (@bwitkovsky.bsky.social) published "Cities and Their Neighbors: Examining Rural-Urban Polarization on A Local Scale" in @urbanaffairsreview.bsky.social. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Cities and Their Neighbors: Examining the Rural–Urban Divide on a Local Scale - Benny Witkovsky, 2025

In recent years, the rural–urban divide has become one of the defining features of American partisan politics. Usually conceptualized as a regional phenomenon, ...

journals.sagepub.com

I start my Soc of Race classes asking students whether UW Madison "feels" diverse (a question I stole from @pamelaoliver.bsky.social). At 68% white, UW is by far the most racially mixed institution many in WI will encounter. That's why it can be the target of so much anti-DEI fear-mongering.

jamelle@jamellebouie.net · last yr.

or UW-Madison, where 68% of students are white?

I have a paper with a whole section about backyard chickens and performative conservative politics! It checks so many boxes for the new conservative coalition: libertarianism (keep gov inspectors off my land), MAHA (don't trust store bought eggs), trad gender roles and self sufficiency.

Just submitted a paper to ASA co-authored with an undergrad and they were SO excited. Definitely the energy I needed this week.

It's election day in Wisconsin! I'm thinking today about all of the races that won't be on the ballot. Only a small fraction of local elections require a primary because no one runs for local office. That is a real threat to the health of local government: bennywitkovsky.com/2025/02/17/w...

Wisconsin’s Primary Problem

Wisconsin’s nonpartisan primary is tomorrow. Like most February elections, it will be incredibly quiet. According to the Madison City Clerk, just 9,000 people have voted absentee in Madison s…

bennywitkovsky.com

We lost my mom’s partner this weekend. The Cap Times wrote a bit today about the legacy he leaves for Wisconsin, law, and politics.

@captimes.com · last yr.

Williamson represented The Progressive when the U.S. government tried to block a nuclear weapons article and helped shape Wisconsin open records law.

Tomorrow are Wisconsin's nonpartisan primaries--sort of. Across Wisconsin cities, only 1 in 9 city council and mayors races require a primary. Check out my latest on how the lack of primaries threatens the nature of nonpartisanship: bennywitkovsky.com/2025/02/17/w...

Wisconsin’s Primary Problem

Wisconsin’s nonpartisan primary is tomorrow. Like most February elections, it will be incredibly quiet. According to the Madison City Clerk, just 9,000 people have voted absentee in Madison s…

bennywitkovsky.com

This is one of my big questions for local government in the Trump Era. Many local governments now face deep internal divisions. Which sheriffs, mayors, school boards, etc. resist federal government demands and which capitulate will, I suspect, be shaped by this local geographic polarization.

Benny Witkovsky@bwitkovsky.bsky.social · last yr.

I am so excited to share my new publication (my first solo-authored paper!) in @urbanaffairsreview.bsky.social! This piece documents the growing partisan divide between neighboring rural and urban communities in Wisconsin and its impact on local governments. 🧵 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

I am so excited to share my new publication (my first solo-authored paper!) in @urbanaffairsreview.bsky.social! This piece documents the growing partisan divide between neighboring rural and urban communities in Wisconsin and its impact on local governments. 🧵 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

New article @urbanaffairsreview.bsky.social by @bwitkovsky.bsky.social, "Cities and Their Neighbors," a highly topical analysis of the urban-rural divide in Wisconsin. urbanaffairsreview.com/uar-archive/...

Cities and Their Neighbors: Examining the Rural–Urban Divide on a Local Scale — Urban Affairs Review

Kenosha County, Wisconsin held the state's only contested race for District Attorney last year. The community's recent history of protest and violence resurfaced in the campaign as the Republican cand...

urbanaffairsreview.com

The volume on my hotel TV is broken and half the channels are paid advertisements for hearing aids. Greatest con ever.

I wrote in the recent @asatheory.bsky.social newsletter that the Second Trump administration will test Tocqueville's promise that local government can be a roadblock for domination, and of Wright's hope for building a better world in the cracks of this one. asatheory.com/current-news...

Winter 2024 Newsletter

Edited by Youbin Kang & Jun Zhou

asatheory.com

I had an amazing time presenting my research on county parties and nonpartisan elections to the Portage County Democratic Party last night. Great to see this work resonate with people on the ground. Would love to speak to more parties (Democrats and Republicans) and community groups this season!

Paper accepted at @urbanaffairsreview.bsky.social!! Best possible way to start the new year!