Biography
Christopher Chambers Ju received his PhD in political science from the University of California, Berkeley in 2017.
His research examines the politics of education through a focus on teachers’ unions. Studying the cases of Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico, he examines why some teachers take to the streets while others form an organized voting bloc, with distinct relationships to political parties.
By focusing on teachers, Christopher seeks to shed light on broader dynamics of education policy-making and political change in contemporary Latin America.
After CIPR Christopher accepted a position as a visiting assistant professor at the College of the Holy Cross, a Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, MA. There he will teach courses on social movements in Latin America and also on broader comparative themes of regime type and economic development in the fall. In the spring, he will teach a course on the politics of education, that is in line with his research.
Degrees
- B.A., Amherst College, Political Science, 2004
- M.A., University of Chicago, Social Science, 2007
- M.A., University of California, Berkeley, Political Science, 2013
- Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, Political Science, 2017
Distinctions
- UC Berkeley Travers Department of Political Science Fellowship, 2013
- NA Ed/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship, 2014-2015
- UC Berkeley Comparative Study of Right-Wing Movements Mini Grant, Mexico, 2012
- John L. Simpson Memorial Research Fellowship, Mexico, 2011-2012
- US Berkeley Graduate Division Summer Grant, Colombia, 2011
- UC Berkeley Human Rights Center (HRC) Fellow, Colombia, 2009
- University of Chicago Tinker Summer Research Grant, Peru, 2007
- Fulbright IIE Scholar, Colombia, 2005-2006
Languages
- Spanish
Overseas Experience
- Argentina
- Colombia
- Mexico
Selected Publications
- 2016. “The Mexican Teachers’ Union: The Politics of Patronage.” With Leslie Finger. In The Politics of Education: Teachers Unions in Comparative Perspective. Terry Moe and Susanne Wiborg, eds. New York: Cambridge University Press.
- 2014. “Data Collection, Opportunity Costs and Problem Solving: Lessons from Field Research on Teachers’ Unions in Latin America.” PS” Political Science & Politics 47(2)
- 2014. “Teachers, Mayors, and the Transformation of Clientelism in Colombia.” With Kent Eaton. Clientelism, Social Policy and the Quality of Democracy Diego Abente Brun and Larry Diamond, eds. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
- 2012. “Popular Representation in Contemporary Latin American Politics: An Agenda for Research.” With Ruth Berins Collier. Routledge Handbook of Latin American Politics Peter Kingstone and Deborah Yashar, eds. New York: Routledge.
