Teaching

My teaching philosophy revolves around encouraging students to ask questions. What assumptions is the author making? Where does the data come from? What conclusions can we draw from this work? I believe that an emphasis on critical thinking not only allows for a flexible approach to complex subjects but also helps prepare students for their future careers and civic responsibilities.

The following page highlights classes I have taught as Instructor-of-Record, as well as syllabi I have prepared for potential courses in support of my pedagogical interests.

For more on my pedagogical approach and teaching experience, please see my Teaching Portfolio.

Courses Taught Independently

Politics in the Age of Social Media (Syllabus)
The beginning of the internet age started with many feeling optimistic about its potential effects on politics, as in theory, it significantly decreased the cost of information. Today, social media’s impact on our politics is often described as null at best, profoundly negative at worst. In this course, we will discuss how elites and the public have used social media to engage in political processes, go over how this appears to influence public opinion, and look at what the future holds for social media’s use in politics. Finally, we will ask whether social media, and the internet more broadly, has fundamentally changed politics, or if it is just one more step in a long line of technological advancements used in predictable patterns.

How to (Not) Lie with Statistics (Syllabus)
How can we reduce partisan animosity? How will Amazon HQ2 impact local economies? Should parents allow kids to have screen time? Do immigration inflows increase crime rates? Modern society constantly faces questions that require data, statistics, and other empirical evidence to answer well. But the proliferation of niche media outlets, the rise of fake news, and the increase in academic research retraction make navigating potential answers to these questions difficult. This course is designed to give students tools to confront this challenge by developing their statistical and information literacy skills. It will demonstrate how data and statistical analyses are susceptible to a wide variety of known and implicit biases, which may ultimately lead consumers of information to make problematic choices. The course will consider this issue from the perspectives of consumers of research as well as researchers themselves. We will discuss effective strategies for reading and interpreting quantitative research while considering the incentives researchers face in producing it. Ultimately, students will complete the class better equipped to evaluate empirical claims made by news outlets, social media, or their peers. The goal is to encourage students to approach data-driven answers to important questions with appropriate tools rather than blind acceptance or excessive skepticism.

Prepared Classes

Introduction to American Politics (In development)
This course introduces students to the fundamentals of American government and politics. The course frames the study of American government and politics by asking: How democratic is the U.S. government? Most Americans consider the U.S. a democracy, even as the world’s leading democracy. And yet, many Americans are also frustrated with politics in the U.S., believing that it does not represent people "like them," that it ignores the will of the people, and instead prioritizes “special interests.” We will discuss what we mean by 'democracy' and the requirements that democracy places on citizens, political leaders, and the government. We will then examine the various components of the American political system—its constitutional foundations, the political involvement of citizens, the institutions that link citizens to government, and the formal institutions of government—and evaluate the degree to which they are democratic. At the end of the course, students will assess their perception of the U.S. as a democratic nation and suggest improvements to enhance democracy in the U.S. or improve the public's understanding of democracy.

Undergraduate Research Methods (Syllabus)
To better understand the political world, we must learn not only how to ask good questions but also how to find good answers. In this course, students will learn about the research process as a group while working on an independent project. Topics will include theory and hypothesis building, the basics of quantitative and qualitative research design, and framing a project to be interesting to others.

State and Local Government (Syllabus)
Although US state-level governments have been described as “laboratories of democracy” where a significant amount of policy making takes place, many political scientists familiarize ourselves only with governments at the federal level. This is concerning because, not only do our state governments create many of the policies we experience in everyday life, but also because the federal government will often look to state policies for direction. The importance of state governments is especially evident in the case of COVID-19, as states decide for themselves how to prevent the spread of the virus and administer the vaccine, resulting in a hodgepodge of regulations across the country. State government wields a lot of power over our lives, and it is important for us to understand not only what our state-level representatives are doing, but also the law making powers they hold. This class is structured to familiarize students with the unique governmental challenges and features of the American states, as well as to provide them with the analytical insight and methodological capabilities to critically engage with political questions in the future.

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