Teaching

This selective program enrolls 3–6 high-performing students each semester to develop and execute original research projects under close faculty mentorship. As the course instructor, I guide students through every stage of the research process, from formulating a compelling research question and engaging the scholarly literature to selecting appropriate methods and designing a study. Class sessions take the form of lectures covering all research design-related topics and both qualitative and quantitative methods, tailored so that students can immediately apply each concept to their own developing projects. I supplement group instruction with bi-weekly one-on-one meetings, providing individualized feedback and accountability at each stage of project development. Students have pursued original research across a wide range of political science fields and subfields. The course culminates in a conference-style presentation before faculty and peers.

This course offers a systematic study of how international human rights norms emerge, travel, and take hold. Beginning with the UN's foundational architecture, students examine the treaties, bodies, and review processes through which human rights are codified and monitored at the international level. The course also investigates the conditions under which these norms diffuse across states and into domestic politics and law, grounding these questions in contemporary cases that bring the stakes of international human rights into sharp relief. Students engage with course concepts through a range of active learning formats, including creating podcasts and participating in simulations and peer discussions. They leave prepared to analyze the promise and limitations of international institutions as engines of human rights promotion.

This introductory undergraduate course, taught synchronously online, surveyed the foundational concepts and contemporary debates of international relations. Course content spanned core theoretical terrain, including statehood, anarchy, security dilemmas, and the basics of game theory, alongside pressing global issues such as climate politics, international institutions, and the resurgence of great power rivalry. A central feature of the course was a series of three structured simulations designed to make abstract theory tangible: a prisoner's dilemma simulation, a collective action problem, and a conflict negotiation exercise. Each placed students in the role of political decision-makers, challenging them to navigate the same strategic constraints and tradeoffs that define real-world international politics. Teaching the course in a synchronous online format required deliberate attention to engagement and interactivity, and the simulation-based design proved especially effective at sustaining active participation and fostering collaborative reasoning across a large remote cohort.