Hello, and welcome! I am a Provostial Fellow and Lecturer at Stanford University, in the Department of Political Science, and an alumni affiliate of the Identities & Ideologies project. I received my Ph.D. in Politics from New York University in 2024. My dissertation – “Myths and Monuments: Ideological Tools of Dominance and Symbolic Change” – received the 2025 E. E. Schattschneider Award for the best doctoral dissertation in the field of American government by the American Political Science Association (APSA), and is the co-winner of the best dissertation award in the APSA Race, Ethnicity, and Politics Section. I am on the 2025-2026 TT Job Market.

My scholarly interests mainly lie in American political behavior, race and ethnic politics, and gender and politics in both historical and contemporary contexts. My research primarily examines the conditions under which dominant groups mobilize around ideology and symbolic politics as tools to uphold their status and hierarchy, who the primary agents of these tools are, and their social and political consequences. My work is published and forthcoming in the Journal of Politics and the Journal of Race, Ethnicity and Politics.

I hold an S.M. in Technology and Policy from MIT and a B.A./B.S. in Economics and Environmental Economics and Policy from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to graduate school, I worked as a researcher in DEC at the World Bank Group. Outside of my academic life, I enjoy running, playing piano, and am avid dabbler in photography, collage art, and beginner improv.

email: rrahnama [at] stanford [dot] edu

cv: here (updated 11/14/2025)

google scholar: here

twitter/X: @roxannerahnama