Courses
International Security (graduate seminar) Fall 2021, 2022
This course offers an introduction to a range of traditional and contemporary international security theories. We immerse ourselves in the academic literature on these topics and work towards being able to contribute to both academic and policy debates about international security. After completing the course, students will be conversant in the most important theories in international security, and many contemporary topics occupying the agendas of policy makers, including nuclear proliferation, non-state armed groups, and peacekeeping.
International Integration & Cooperation (undergraduate lecture) Fall 2022
Why and how do people and states institutionalize cooperation with one another? How does this cooperation shape economic and political outcomes? Why and when does this cooperation collapse? Is the European Union a useful model of integration and cooperation, or unique from other regions? To explore these questions, we draw upon relevant theories of International Relations alongside contemporary issues such as why Brexit happened, the Euro Crisis, the future of NATO, and peacekeeping by African regional organizations. Students will gain analytic frameworks that they can use to better understand current issues in global and regional politics, which will prepare them to identify problems and craft solutions. Classes will consist of a mix of lecture, discussion, and group activities. It is thus essential for students to attend class prepared to participate, having read and reflected upon the required materials prior to the meeting.
Research Methods (graduate lecture) Spring 2023
Throughout this course, students learn about the techniques and tools necessary for designing high-quality research, as well as introductory statistical skills that will provide you with an understanding of the appropriate applications and limitations of quantitative research methods. The objective is to equip students with the ability to understand, explain, and perform social science research, with a specific emphasis on causal reasoning and data analysis. By the end of the course, students are better equipped to critically evaluate evidence presented in academic articles within the social sciences, as well as have a foundation in the world of data science. This course will also help you develop proficiency in R for managing and analyzing data.
Political Violence (undergraduate lecture) Spring 2021, 2022, 2023
In this course, students will learn how social scientific tools can be used to understand political violence that occurs primarily within states, including civil war, genocide, and terrorism. The course will also cover a number of emerging topics in the field of political violence, including rebel governance, technology and conflict, and the legacies of violence. The course will familiarize students with the basic research tools employed by scholars of political violence, including case studies, survey research, and the quantitative analysis of cross-national datasets, and apply concepts and tools in diverse regional contexts in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.