Agata Maria Kraj

// DISSERTATION PROJECT

Constructing Gendered Representative Relations Through Claim Making Performances: Institutional and Interpersonal Perspectives from Germany and Poland

The dissertation explores the process of establishing and cultivating representative relationships by political representatives in Germany and Poland through the prism of the claim making perspective developed by Michael Saward (2006, 2010, 2017). The work blends recent theoretical advances in the study of representation with traditional perspectives on political agenda setting and contagion theory, as well as with sociological and social psychological approaches to framing and impression management. Consequently, the dissertation develops a novel theoretical and methodological framework capable of taking into account the contextual factors that determine the structure of claim making performances. Firstly, it investigates the constraining nature of a masculinized institutional culture and party competition landscape in determining the structure of gendered claims to representation offered by German and Polish political parties in their manifestos. Secondly, based on interviews conducted with political representatives in both countries, the dissertation scrutinizes the ways in which these contextual factors affect the image-building capacity of individual claim makers in shaping their performances. Lastly, it experimentally scrutinizes the impact of different frame alignment techniques to assess the mobilizing capacity of representative performances aimed at activating potential adherents’ gendered political ambition.

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// ACADEMIC BACKGROUND   

2008 - 2010
Master in Global Visual Communication (M.A.) at Jacobs University Bremen, Germany

2005 - 2008
Bachelor in Integrated Social and Cognitive Psychology (B.A.) at Jacobs University Bremen, Germany

Awards / Academic Achievements and Scholarships

2018
ECPR Political Psychology Standing Group Travel Grant for 2018 ISPP Summer Academy in San Antonio, TX

2018
ISPP Travel Grant for Early Career Scholars to attend the 2018 ISPP Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX, USA

2016
DAAD PROMOS mobility stipend for a research trip to the Stanford Political Psychology Summer Institute (SIPP) at Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

2008 – 2010
Full merit-based scholarship for graduate studies at Jacobs University Bremen

2008 – 2009
Merit-based scholarship from Pomorskie Voivodeship, Gdańsk, Poland

2005 – 2008
Partial merit-based scholarship for undergraduate studies at Jacobs University Bremen

Further Academic Training

12-23 September 2016
26th ECPR Summer School in Political Parties, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, U.K.

1-19th August 2016 Stanford Summer Institute in Political Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

26th February – 4th March 2016
ECPR Winter School in Methods and Techniques, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany
 

Third party funds      

2015 – 2018
Three-year scholarship for doctoral studies from the German Science Foundation (DFG)

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// CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS

2019

BaGrACS Workshop “Theories in Psychology.” Workshop aimed at helping young researchers develop skills in theory formulation and testing. University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany. June 2019.

2018

Annual Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology (ISPP). Presentation on “Aligning with Women: The Effects of Political Parties’ Framing Strategies on Women’s Willingness to Become Politically Active in Poland and Germany”. San Antonio, TX, USA. July 2018. 3

2017

American Political Science Association (APSA). Presentation on “Liberal Transformations, Conservative Amplifications: Implicit Gender Bias and Party Membership in Germany and Poland”. San Francisco, CA, USA. September 2017.

Annual Meeting of the International Society of Political Psychology (ISPP). Presentation on “Party-Level Frames: Implicit Gender Bias German and Polish Political Programs”. Edinburgh, UK. July 2017.

Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA). Presentation on “Liberal Transformations, Conservative Amplifications: Implicit Gender Bias and Party Membership in Germany and Poland”. Chicago, IL, USA. April 2017.

2016

ECPR General Conference, Charles University in Prague. Presentation on “Party-level Frames: A Gendered Framing Analysis of German and Polish Party Manifestos”. Prague, Czech Republic. September 2016.

Workshop “Leaders. Candidates. Activists. The Dynamics of Party Organization”, Bamberg Graduate School of Social Sciences, University of Bamberg. Presentation on “Party-Level Frames of Women’s Issues: A Gendered Content Analysis of German, British, and Polish Party Manifestos”. Bamberg, Germany. April 2016.

1st International Conference in Scandalogy, University of Bamberg. Presentation of a research project titled “Primary Scandals: A Comparison of News Media’s Multimodal and Gendered Treatment of U.S. Presidential Candidate Frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump” (with Dr. Ognyan Seizov, University of Bremen). Bamberg/Germany. 7-8 April 2016.

“Analysis of Political Institutions” Workshop with Prof. Dr. George Tsebelis, BAGSS/University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany. 4th April 2016.

Conference and Workshop Organization

Young Scholars’ Workshop on Immigration Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark, February 2020.

Job and Research Applications in the United States, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany, December 2018.

Explaining Political Behavior and Identity: Macro- and Micro-Level Perspectives, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany, June 2018.

Annual BAGSS Conference, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany, July 2016.

Invited Talks and Conference Moderation

University of Bamberg, 2nd International Conference in Scandalogy. Moderation of a panel “Political Culture”. March 29, 2018.

University of Bristol Postgraduate Training Day Workshop: Presentation titled “Female Politicians’ Impression Management Strategies in the Political Arena", May 18, 2016.

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// EXPERIENCE

Professional Experience

2015
Assistant Manager, lululemon athletica DE, Hamburg, Germany

2011 – 2012
Freelance Market Researcher, Jim Beam Brands, Berlin, Germany

2010 – 2014
Admissions Officer, Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences (BIGSSS), Bremen, Germany

Academic Experience

2008 – 2010
Teaching Assistant to Prof. Dr. Ulrich Kühnen, Jacobs University Bremen, Bremen, Germany

2006 – 2007
Social Cognition Lab of Prof. Dr. Jens Förster, Jacobs University Bremen, Bremen, Germany

Internships

2007
Cognitive Neuroscience Lab of Prof. Dr. Canan Basar-Eroglu, University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany

2006
Polish Navy Psychological Research, Gdańsk, Poland

Non-academic experience

2015 – to date
Yoga teacher

2009 – 2014
Resident Associate, Krupp College, Jacobs University Bremen, Bremen, Germany

2009 – 2014
Peer Counselor, Jacobs University Bremen, Bremen, Germany

2007 – 2010
Diversity and Transition Management Coach, Jacobs University Bremen, Bremen, Germany

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// RELATED CONTENT

Find articles and events on the website of the Graduate School which are connected to Agata's work and contributions:
 

Image Credits: © Bamberg Graduate School of Social Sciences