What happens when the institution responsible for governing a nation cannot keep up with the speed of its own information environment? That is the question at the heart of Dr. Annelise Russell's upcoming visit to IDEA on Wednesday, March 11.

Dr. Russell, an Associate Professor of Public Policy at the University of Kentucky's Martin School, will present Tweeting Scared: Congress's Crisis of Communications, drawn from her recent book of the same title published by Oxford University Press. Her research reveals that while Congress lurches from one crisis to another, the most persistent crisis is the one that gets the least attention: a fundamental breakdown in the technology and systems that enable Congress to communicate with the public. The staff and professionals who drive the daily operations on Capitol Hill have adapted to meet the relentless pace of news and digital information, but the result is an environment where daily congressional engagement now resembles a disaster response.

Before entering academia, Dr. Russell spent more than six years as a journalist with the National Journal, Congressional Quarterly, and the San Francisco Chronicle, giving her a uniquely grounded perspective on political communication. She is also a recent Research Fellow at the Library of Congress, where she studied the history and current trajectory of digital politics in Congress.

The talk will take place from 1:30 to 2:30 PM in the Spencer Room (Derby Hall, Room 2130). Faculty and graduate students across the college are welcome to attend.