Dr. Ruth Rubin

Biography

Ruth Bloch Rubin is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago, specializing in American politics. Her research primarily focuses on legislative institutions, political parties, and American political development. By utilizing a combination of archival and interview data, her current work explores how divisions within political parties influence congressional development and the structural aspects of lawmaking. She challenges existing theories of party power in Congress, emphasizing the significant role of intraparty organizations in shaping both substantive and procedural changes. In addition to her work on party dynamics, Bloch Rubin is investigating Congress's provision of health services to American Indians in the early nineteenth century. Prior to her position at the University of Chicago, she was a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar in Health Policy Research at Harvard University. She earned her PhD in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2014.

Research Interests