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Kristina LaPlant

Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Assistant Professor
Political Science Public Admin University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

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Kristina LaPlant Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Assistant Professor

Political Science Public Admin

Specialty area(s)

American politics, campaign advertising, conspiracy theories, emotions, gender stereotypes, political behavior,  political psychology, public opinion, and research methodology.

Brief biography

Dr. Kristina M. LaPlant is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Georgia State University in 2019. Her primary field of study is American political behavior with an emphasis on gender stereotypes, public opinion, and conspiracy theories. Her scholarship has been published in American Politics Research, New Political Science, Political Behavior, Politics & Policy, Social Science Quarterly, and The Social Science Journal. Dr. LaPlant is also passionate about mentoring undergraduate research and collaborating with students on innovative projects. 

Current courses at UWL

FALL 2025 (UPCOMING)
POL 205: Women and Politics (Online)
POL 310: Public Opinion and Political Behavior
POL 325: The Politics of Mass Incarceration

SPRING 2025 
POL 205: Women and Politics (Online)
POL 309: Identity Politics and Polarization

Education

          Ph.D. in Political Science, Georgia State University 

          M.A. in Political Science, Georgia State University 

          B.A in History, Valdosta State University 

Career

Teaching history

FYS 100: First Year Seminar: Conspiracy Theories in America (Spring 2023)

POL 101: American National Government, POL 101 (Fall 2020, 2023, 2024; Spring 2022)

POL 205: Women and Politics, POL 205 (Fall 2020-Fall 2025)

POL 305: Political Parties (Spring 2024)

POL 309: Identity Politics and Polarization (Spring 2025)

POL 310: Public Opinion and Political Behavior (Fall 2021, 2023, Fall 2025)

POL 319: Campaigns and Elections (Fall 2022)

POL 325: Politics of Mass Incarceration (Fall 2025)

POL 361: Research Methods in Politics and Government (Spring 2021, 2023; Fall 2024)

POL 494: Capstone Seminar: Research Design (Fall 2022, 2024)

POL 494: Capstone Seminar: Survey Methods (Fall 2021; Spring 2022)

POL 498: Honors Research (Spring 2023; Spring 2025)

POL 499: Independent Study: The Politics of Apathy (Fall 2021)

POL 499: Independent Study: Research Assistantship (Spring 2023, 2024; Fall 2024)

POL 499: Independent Study: Topics in Research Methodology (Spring 2024)

Professional history

  • "Bridging the Divide" Faculty Sponsor (2024-current)
  • Program Chair, Georgia Political Science Association (2023)
  • Wisconsin Teaching and Fellows Program (2022-2023)
  • Board Member, Georgia Political Science Association (2021-present)
  • UWL Undergraduate Research Committee member (2021-2023)
  • UWL Undergraduate Research Committee chairperson (Fall 2023)
  • UWL College Feminists co-Faculty Sponsor (2021-2023)

 

Research and publishing

Refereed Publications

LaPlant, Kristina M. 2024. "No Laughing Matter: The Moderating Role of Gender Stereotypes in Humorous Political Attack Advertisements. " The Social Science Journal, Online First.

LaPlant, Kristina M., Keith E. Lee Jr., and James T. LaPlant. 2023. “Stopping the Steal and Selling the Big Lie: An Analysis of Tweets and Certification Votes Among House Republicans in the Wake of the 2020 Presidential Election." American Politics Research, 52(2): 141-156.

LaPlant, Kristina M., Deryl Mack Seckinger, Keith E. Lee Jr., and James LaPlant. 2021. "Cocked, Locked, and Loaded: An Analysis of the Five Policy Regimes of Concealed Carry on College Campuses." Politics & Policy, 49(1): 61-86.

LaPlant, Kristina M., Keith E. Lee Jr., and James LaPlant. 2021. "Christmas Trees, Mass Shootings, and Presidents. Explaining Gun Purchases in the South and Non-South." Social Science Quarterly 102(1): 387-406.

Fridkin, Kim, Sarah Gershon, Jillian Courey, and Kristina M. LaPlant. 2021. "Gender Differences in Emotional Reactions to the 2016 Presidential Debates." Political Behavior 43(1): 55-85.

LaPlant, Kristina M., Bailey Fairbanks, and Toby Bolsen. 2020. "Locked in a Box: How Activist Art Affects Opinions about Solitary Confinement." New Political Science, 42(3): pp. 289-312.

Bolsen, Toby, Bailey Fairbanks, Eduardo Aviles, Regina Griggs, Justin Kingsland, Kristina M. LaPlant, Matthew Montgomery, and Natalie Rogol. 2019. "Merging Undergraduate Teaching, Graduate Training, and Producing Research: Lessons from Three Collaborative Experiments." PS: Political Science & Politics, 52(1): 117-122.

James LaPlant and Kristina M. LaPlant. 2012. "'David is Going to Beat Goliath': An Analysis of the 2012 T-SPLOST Referendum in Georgia." Proceedings of the Georgia Political Science Association 8(1): 1-25.

Kristina M. LaPlant and James LaPlant. 2011. "Dixie Rising? Revisiting the Classification of Southern States in the 21st Century." Proceedings of the Georgia Political Science Association 7(1): 1-25.

Book Chapter

Robert Howard with Kristina M. LaPlant. 2017. "The Executive Branch" in Georgia Politics, 3rd edition. Athens: University of Georgia Press.

Other Publications

Robert Howard and Kristina M. LaPlant. 2017. "The Roberts Court" in Encyclopedia of American Civil Rights and Liberties, 2nd edition. ABC-CLIO Greenwood.

 

 

Kudos

published

Kristina LaPlant, Political Science & Public Administration, authored the article "No Laughing Matter: The Moderating Role of Gender Stereotypes in Humorous Political Attack Advertisements" in The Social Science Journal that was published Thursday, Dec. 12 by Taylor & Francis.

Submitted on: Dec. 12, 2024

published

Kristina LaPlant, Political Science & Public Administration, authored the article "Stopping the Steal and Selling the Big Lie: An Analysis of Tweets and Certification Votes Among House Republicans in the Wake of the 2020 Presidential Election" in American Politics Research published on Dec. 8 by Sage Journals.

Submitted on: Dec. 9, 2023

named

Taylor Cole Miller, Communication Studies; Valerie Krage, Educational Studies; and Kristina LaPlant, Political Science & Public Administration; were named UWL's 2022-23 Wisconsin Teaching Fellows and Scholars (WTFS) of UW System Office of Professional and Instructional Development (OPID), with CATL support, on Dec. 22, 2021. They will begin their year-long WTFS experience in summer 2022 and complete a specific scholarship of teaching and learning project.

Submitted on: Feb. 8, 2022

published

Kristina LaPlant, Political Science & Public Administration, authored the article "Cocked, Locked, and Loaded: An Analysis of the Five Policy Regimes of Concealed Carry on College Campuses" in Politics & Policy published on Jan. 9 by Wiley-Blackwell. LaPlant and colleagues explore how gun culture, state policy liberalism, and racial politics influence legislation allowing the carrying of concealed weapons on college campuses in the United States.

Submitted on: Jan. 12, 2021

published

Kristina LaPlant, Political Science & Public Administration, authored the article "Christmas Trees, Presidents, and Mass Shootings: Explaining Gun Purchases in the South and Non-South" in Social Science Quarterly published on Nov. 27 by Wiley-Blackwell.

Submitted on: Nov. 28, 2020

Memberships & affiliations

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