|
Welcome and thanks for visiting! I am an Assistant Instructional Professor for the Committee on International Relations (CIR) at the University of Chicago, as well as an affiliate with the Political Science department and the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality. I received my PhD in Political Science from The Ohio State University, where I majored in International Relations and minored in Race, Ethnicity, and Gender Politics.
My research interests include feminist and postcolonial thought, peace and conflict studies, African politics and security, and the role of gender in post-conflict reconciliation. My research agenda is motivated by the question: what would happen if, as scholars of International Relations, we took peace as seriously as war? |
My current book project, “When Heroes Hurt: Stories of Everyday Masculinities, Violence, and Peace After Armed Conflict,” explores the relationship between war-linked masculinities, colonialism, and the persistence of everyday violence after war. Using fieldwork evidence from case studies in Northern Ireland and Burundi, I demonstrate that socialization into particular gender logics during war, especially 'good guy' masculinities (providers, protectors, and liberators, for example), plays a distinct role in the proliferation of postcolonial violences during so-called times of peace. At the heart of my research is a keen attention towards the lived experiences of everyday people working towards a future beyond war. To learn about this project, as well as my other on-going research, click here.
I am also an award-winning educator interested in critical studies of political science pedagogy and have on-going research related to syllabi as disciplinary narratives, as well as published research on peace education in the post-conflict classroom. I find so much joy being in the classroom, and over the years have found myself in various educator roles beyond the higher-ed classroom, including elementary schools, peace dialogue workshops, preschool gymnastics coaching, and leading a Girl Scouts troop for six years. To learn more about my teaching philosophy and courses I have designed/instructed, click here.
I am also an award-winning educator interested in critical studies of political science pedagogy and have on-going research related to syllabi as disciplinary narratives, as well as published research on peace education in the post-conflict classroom. I find so much joy being in the classroom, and over the years have found myself in various educator roles beyond the higher-ed classroom, including elementary schools, peace dialogue workshops, preschool gymnastics coaching, and leading a Girl Scouts troop for six years. To learn more about my teaching philosophy and courses I have designed/instructed, click here.