Kumar Ramanathan, PhD
Political Science
Bridge to Faculty Postdoctoral Research Associate
Pronouns: he/him
About
Kumar Ramanathan is a Bridge to Faculty Scholar in the Department of Political Science at UIC. He grew up in India and Hong Kong before immigrating to the United States. He earned his Ph.D. in political science at Northwestern University, and previously held positions as a Doctoral Fellow at the American Bar Foundation and Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Chicago.
His research explores how the politics of law and public policy shape inequality in the United States. This includes projects on civil rights and social welfare policies, urban politics, immigrant politics, and democratic accountability. His book manuscript, tentatively titled Building a Civil Rights Agenda: The Democratic Party and the Origins of Racial Liberalism, explores how party politics during the 1930s-60s shaped the content of landmark civil rights legislation. His research agenda on urban politics focuses on Chicago, including projects on the changing dynamics of factional conflict in the Chicago City Council and the politics of gentrifying neighborhoods.
Outside of his academic life, Kumar is active in neighborhood politics on the far north side of Chicago. He can often be found biking around Uptown or cheering at Chicago Sky games.
You can learn more about his research and teaching at www.kumarramanathan.com.