Teaching Philosophy
As a teacher of political science, my goal is to prepare students to be active, engaged citizens who are equipped with the skills and understanding required to navigate the unique challenges of politics in a digital age. In all of my courses, I use primary texts from a diverse set of political and social thinkers in order to challenge my students to consider their own understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizens, the role of the state and legitimacy of its laws, and the processes of public life. My goal with teaching is to help my students develop the skills and perspective with which to interrogate their own daily practices and environments.
Courses Taught
Introduction to Political Theory
Some of the concepts we cover in this course are “justice,” “rule,” “legitimacy,” and “freedom.” What are justice and injustice? What are the rights and obligations of rule, and what are its limits? What is freedom and how has it changed? How may and how should we pursue different political ideals? We survey answers offered by many different thinkers, writing under a variety of circumstances. Finally, we pay attention to what the theorists themselves are up to: how they argue for their views, whom they are addressing, and how they can be interpreted.
Last taught: Fall 2018
Modern Political Thought
What does it mean to “know” (or “speak”) modernity? In studying some of the most decisively influential and challenging thinkers and canonical texts of Western political theory in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including those by G.W. F. Hegel, Karl Marx, Alexis de Tocqueville, Jeremy Bentham, J.S. Mill, Friedrich Nietzsche, Sigmund Freud, and Max Weber, we investigate how “modernity” appears as a political phenomenon and how it invites us to grapple with questions concerning emancipation and alienation; liberty and conformity; democracy, morality, and power. Through these discussions, we will discover what it means to say that we live in modernity and to grasp it and think about it critically, theoretically, and politically.
Last taught: Spring 2019
American Political Thought
Is it possible to sustain a geographically large and demographically diverse democratic republic? Through a study of primary texts drawn from throughout American history, students come to understand the development of American political thought in the United States, from the Revolutionaries to the Civil Rights Movement and beyond. In our exploration of the issues at stake in these debates, we consider the spirit and substance of some of the most important debates that have identified American political thought at different times, especially over the revolution against British subjection, the founding of a compound republic, federalism and the relationship between the states, the representation of citizens, the varieties of individualism and nationalism, the socialist utopia, the pragmatist vision, and the evolving character of State, Nation, and Citizen.
Last taught: Spring 2017
Democracy, Dissent, & Disobedience
How should citizens vocalize their displeasure in a democratic system? From the Boston Tea Party to the recent events in Charlottesville, VA, protests loom large in the history of American politics. In this course, we take up these questions of disobedience and dissent, exploring what democracy requires of both governments and citizens. Do citizens have an obligation to obey the state—even when its laws are deemed unjust? What are the limits (if any) of government authority? Is breaking the law ever justified? Along the way, we will ask what it means to be a member of a democratic community, who gets to determine whether a law is “just” or “unjust,” and under what conditions the use of violence is justified. Through these investigations, students develop their understanding of concepts like “authority,” “justice,” “liberty,” and “legitimacy,” as well as think about what strategies of disobedience are—or can be—justified.
Last taught: Fall 2018
Seminar in Feminist Theory
This course introduces students to critical discourses and debates within feminist theory and feminist politics, including "difference," "diversity," and "deconstructive" approaches to theorizing gender, sex, sexuality, and subjectivity. As we consider the essentially contested concepts of "woman," "justice," and "culture," the course also pushes students to interrogate the idea of "feminism" and the political project of making judgments both within and across cultures.
Last taught: Fall 2018
Introduction to Politics
Politics is everywhere. Elections, tax policy, immigration, ISIS, healthcare: these are political debates and issues that we are all familiar with. Political science seeks to understand and appreciate the causes and meanings of these conflicts in a systematic fashion. But politics doesn’t have to be boring. Concepts from political science are evident throughout popular culture—sports, movies, books, and TV shows are full of politics. The discussion of concussions in the NFL? The Iron Man/Captain America conflict in Civil War? These all illustrate crucial aspects of politics.
In this course, we explore some of the most fundamental political ideas via both traditional social science methods, current events, and pop culture. In our exploration of the issues at stake in these debates, we consider three major dimensions of politics: the ideas that motivate political actions, the actors that engage in political behavior, and the outcomes that are produced by the processes of politics. Politics is an all-encompassing and complex field of study. As a result, we neither settle the question of what politics is, nor the question of how it works, but, rather, we deepen our appreciation of the importance and complexity of the concepts, issues, and debates that are political.
Last taught: Spring 2019