Written by Stacey Maifeld, LAS Communications | Photos by Christopher Gannon
Sept. 17, 2024

Amy Erica Smith

2024 Award for Mid-Career Achievement in Research

    When she was 9 years old, Amy Erica Smith made an ambitious announcement. She was going to learn every language in the world. She went on to study German, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic at various stages of her education.

    Her early interest in countries and cultures led her to major in Latin American studies as an undergraduate, travel widely across South America and, in particular, develop a fascination with Brazil and the political opinions of its people.

    "From the beginning, I wanted to understand what led Latin Americans to work together to solve political problems, or to fail to do so effectively," Smith said. "I was especially interested in ordinary people, in what they thought about politics and how they reacted to the political system."

    [Political science research] is a form of storytelling, because we're helping students and citizens understand others who differ from them.

    Amy Erica Smith

    Rising star

    Today, Smith is an LAS Dean's Professor in the department of political science and widely recognized as a top expert on politics and religion in Brazil. Their work is acknowledged in national and international academic and policy circles, published by the field's best presses and journals and shared with the public via media outlets like The Conversation and The Washington Post. The university honored her work with a 2024 Award for Mid-Career Achievement in Research.

    Smith is the author of four books and was named the best emerging scholar in comparative politics by the American Political Science Association. They also hold a unique distinction among Iowa State faculty: Smith is the only Carnegie Fellow in the history of the university. 

    In nomination support letters, fellow scholars describe Smith as a "rising star," praising the unparalleled quality, productivity and impact of her work at the mid-career stage. 

    "Professor Smith is the single most influential scholar in the study of the politics of religion in contemporary Latin America and its role in the transformation of the political Right," wrote Kenneth Roberts, the Richard J. Schwartz Professor of Government at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, and a national senior scholar in comparative Latin American politics.

    Ethos of service

    Smith's research on important global issues, such as challenges to modern democracy and climate change, starts with seeking to understand the thoughts of everyday people, from worshippers in Brazilian church pews to grassroots organizers on the front lines of political movements.

    "I see political science research as a practice of systematic empathy, and as a form of storytelling, and as a path to making politics work better for people," Smith said. "By systematic empathy, I mean that we use curiosity, reason and methods of inquiry to understand what makes people tick. 

    "I say it's a form of storytelling, because we're helping students and citizens understand others who differ from them," she added. "And when we get the systematic empathy and the storytelling right, I believe that we can point the way to action and to change."

    Smith said she's humbled to have her contributions honored by the university.

    "The practicality and ethos of service that are embedded in Iowa State's land-grant mission speak to me. And I know from first-hand experience that we have many amazing researchers in a huge range of disciplines here at ISU," Smith said. "To be recognized within this stellar field that includes physicists and agronomists and poets means a lot to me." 

    Service also is a focus of Smith's future research in her new role as associate director of research at the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics. 

    "I'm excited to get to tell the stories of women politicians in Iowa -- how they get involved, how their service changes them and how it changes their communities," she said.

    Culture of kindness

    Smith's research has taken them around the globe, and their favorite travel story is bound to hit home with parents from any culture.

    Smith's family was traveling in Brazil during a Fulbright Fellowship. As they passed through a bus station in Rio de Janeiro, Smith's young son absentmindedly tossed his beloved teddy bear, Griz, into the air –- only to watch with surprise and sadness as it landed in the deep hole of an escalator worksite. Smith recalled how a group of Brazilian maintenance workers rushed in to share words of comfort and begin a teddy bear rescue mission. 

    "My son told me tearily that it looked 'just like the helicopter rescue videos' he was obsessed with at the time," Smith said. "I've always loved Brazilian culture, and I think of this story as emblematic of Brazilians' decency and kindness to strangers."