The American Institutions Group (AIG) is a Rackham interdisciplinary workshop for faculty and graduate students that meets twice a month to discuss recent and forthcoming research on American political institutions (e.g. Congress, the presidency, state legislatures and governors, the courts, and the bureaucracy). We aim to offer new and varied perspectives for graduate students to harness in their own work; encourage conversations that breed new research ideas; and spur innovative collaborations among our participants. AIG participants are scholars in political science, public health, social work, public policy, and economics interested in examining American political institutions from a wide variety of perspectives.