beth rosenson photo

Professor Rosenson received her M.A. in Political Science from Yale University in 1989, and her Ph.D. in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2000. She also worked as a journalist in the Boston area covering politics, education, and crime. Her research and teaching interests include political ethics and corruption, legislative behavior, media and politics, comparative state politics, and American political development. The main theme animating her research is an interest in understanding democratic accountability, particularly with reference to legislators.  She has a special interest in the role that political reform measures and the media play in constraining and shaping legislative behavior. Her book Shadowlands of Conduct: Ethics and State Politics(Georgetown University Press, 2005) examined the enactment (and limitations) of conflict of interest laws for legislators in the American states over the past half-century.

Her work has also been published in various journals, including Legislative Studies Quarterly, Social Science Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, Public Choice, and State Politics and Policy Quarterly. In addition to her book, Professor Rosenson has published on media bias and media coverage of state legislatures; on the effects of conflict of interest laws, campaign finance laws, and the initiative process; on who gives and who gets privately sponsored Congressional travel; and on variation in Congressional support for Israel. Current projects include a book manuscript that examines the content and partisanship of House ethics investigations from 1798-2011. She is also working on a journal article manuscript on media coverage of gaffes by presidential candidates, and another on newspaper endorsements of presidential candidates.

Education

  • Ph.D. in Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2000
  • M.A. in Political Science, Yale University, 1991
  • B.A. in Government, Wesleyan University, 1987

Areas of Interest/Research

  • State legislatures and Congress
  • Legislative voting behavior
  • Political ethics, corruption, and political reform 
  • American political development 
  • Media and politics

Contact Information

Fall 2014 Office Hours: TBA

Office: 202 Anderson Hall
Phone: 352-392-0262 ext. 232
Fax: 352-392-8127
Email: rosenson@ufl.edu