New PhD Rasmus Kappelgaard Gustafsson

Rasmus Kappelgaard Gustafsson
Rasmus Kappelgaard Gustafsson Foto: Lars Kruse

Hi Everyone!

My name is Rasmus and started as a PhD student here at the department on February 1st. I have also been studying here at both my bachelor and master, and after a 1,5-year work stay at the administration in the Central Region of Denmark, I am now back at the department.

My project will focus on the use and consequences of when politicians display their lifestyle to voters, or what I term ‘lifestyle cues’. I am specifically interested how lifestyle cues or appeals influence how voters evaluate political candidates and what characteristics they ascribe to them. Furthermore, I also want to study whether lifestyle cues can work as a way of appealing to certain groups of voters, for instance via signaling an association to specific social classes via the communication of more “popular” lifestyle. For now, I am still in the process of developing a concise project description. Luckily, I have the strong guidance of my two supervisors, Rune Stubager and Troels Bøggild, to help me along the way. I will continue to be a part of the political behavior and institutions section.

Outside of working here, I do different types of volunteer work. I am helping as a homework helper for middle- and high-school pupils in Hasle, a couple times a month, and furthermore I also take part in organizing activities for different political (party and NGO) organizations. I am passionate football-fan and loves to have long discussions about results, transfers, and tactics, but I also have a strong interest in other sports such as cycling and the NBA. Finally, I also have a strong interest in music, and I am always on the lookout for new songs to listen to.

So if you want to drop by my office (1340, 242) for a chat about my project, music, sports or anything else, feel free to come by!