Teaching |
I came to academia eager to teach and continually find joy in the classroom and the fulfilling community of learning that teaching offers. Being an educator is a core part of who I am as a scholar, and I am committed to building learning environments which are inclusive and responsive to my students. My teaching philosophy is rooted in feminist principles of pedagogy, including:
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Co-creation of knowledge
I approach teaching as a collaboration with my students, where I see myself as a facilitator of dialogue and I aim to foster independence and critical thinking in my students. Knowledge as co-creation empowers students and inspires a sense of community where experience and diversity are valued. It also builds a foundation of mutual trust and respect and opens up space for students to honor each other's differences.
Thinking otherwise
I encourage curiosity and an eye towards challenging traditional ways of thinking, doing, and being, especially to open up opportunities for thinking, doing, and being otherwise. Students learn to practice a healthy curiosity by cultivating a relational investigation of the world--rather than emphasizing persistent critique, students analyze through the lenses of imagination and possibility. I challenge students to re-examine concepts, routines, and institutions that we tend to take for granted in our lives and our research.
reflexivity
The classroom is a site of power, and I seek in my classroom to illustrate and embody practices of holistic reflexivity. Students learn through example and through active exercises how to pay attention to power and be mindful of one's own power. We consider the role of power in research and theory-building and explore how knowledge-as-relational shapes our responsibilities to each other as learners and thinkers.
inclusion
When a student can see themselves and their experiences reflected in readings and assignments, they are inspired and brought into our learning journey in profound ways. In my classes, students learn from both the traditional IR canon as well as the many thinkers in IR who bring alternative lenses (feminist, interpretive, postcolonial, critical, post-positivist, etc) to the study of world politics.
Accessibility
I take seriously the importance of balancing a rigorous and fruitful learning environment while maintaining a space responsive to students' needs. Students are never just students--they are human beings who bring their whole beautiful, messy selves to the classroom. I aim as an instructor and advisor to keep this truth in mind and approach my role with flexibility, empathy, and respect.
Current Course Offerings
INRE 43600 Critical Security studies
Offered: Autumn 2023, Winter 2024
This graduate-level elective course is designed to introduce students to approaches to global politics beyond the traditional mainstream canon, surveying a range of perspectives that fall under the heading of ‘critical.' The main goal is to develop an understanding of what is at stake, politically, with some of the main concepts, theories, methodological approaches, and empirical objects within the study of international relations (IR) and international security. The course is divided into two sections. First, we begin by considering what makes a critical approach critical—that is, how is it set apart from conventional approaches? In particular, we will explore how critical approaches encourage us to question our assumptions, first, about what security, power, sovereignty, and other core concepts mean in global politics, and second, about who or what (individuals, groups, nonhuman animals, states, the planet) can be agents of global politics. Some examples of approaches we cover are: theories from the Global South, approaches to human security, global feminisms, securitization theories, ontological security, emotions and affect, the visual turn, new materialisms, and post-colonial perspectives. In the second half of the course, we apply these approaches to a range of issues, including nuclear weapons, borders and immigration, drone warfare, terrorism, and climate change.
Open to limited undergraduate registration.
This graduate-level elective course is designed to introduce students to approaches to global politics beyond the traditional mainstream canon, surveying a range of perspectives that fall under the heading of ‘critical.' The main goal is to develop an understanding of what is at stake, politically, with some of the main concepts, theories, methodological approaches, and empirical objects within the study of international relations (IR) and international security. The course is divided into two sections. First, we begin by considering what makes a critical approach critical—that is, how is it set apart from conventional approaches? In particular, we will explore how critical approaches encourage us to question our assumptions, first, about what security, power, sovereignty, and other core concepts mean in global politics, and second, about who or what (individuals, groups, nonhuman animals, states, the planet) can be agents of global politics. Some examples of approaches we cover are: theories from the Global South, approaches to human security, global feminisms, securitization theories, ontological security, emotions and affect, the visual turn, new materialisms, and post-colonial perspectives. In the second half of the course, we apply these approaches to a range of issues, including nuclear weapons, borders and immigration, drone warfare, terrorism, and climate change.
Open to limited undergraduate registration.
INRE 43000 Core Seminar: International order and security
Offered: Winter 2024
Order and security are defining, if not THE defining, concepts in the study of International Relations (IR). But what is security? And how is it related to order? What are the contours of 'security' the concept, who are agents of security, and for whom is security secured? This graduate core seminar provides a deep dive into the rich, diverse field of international security studies. We will survey both theoretical and empirical literature, and, using a themes-based (rather than theoretical paradigms-based approach), we will move towards understanding and deconstructing core concepts like anarchy, sovereignty, power, war, cooperation, deterrence, and the security dilemma to better understand contemporary security concerns. This course offers diverse theoretical lenses for understanding security studies, with a keen eye towards connecting theory to practice and carefully considering approaches beyond the traditional IR canon. We will address questions like: What are the causes of war? How can we explain and prevent outbreaks of mass violence? How has the idea of security evolved and expanded? How do security scholars think about nuclear weapons? And how is modern warfare changing with the proliferation of new weapons technologies? Throughout, we will balance perspectives from mainstream security studies with critical security studies, as well as Global North perspectives with Global South perspectives to provide a comprehensive and modern understanding of the field.
Order and security are defining, if not THE defining, concepts in the study of International Relations (IR). But what is security? And how is it related to order? What are the contours of 'security' the concept, who are agents of security, and for whom is security secured? This graduate core seminar provides a deep dive into the rich, diverse field of international security studies. We will survey both theoretical and empirical literature, and, using a themes-based (rather than theoretical paradigms-based approach), we will move towards understanding and deconstructing core concepts like anarchy, sovereignty, power, war, cooperation, deterrence, and the security dilemma to better understand contemporary security concerns. This course offers diverse theoretical lenses for understanding security studies, with a keen eye towards connecting theory to practice and carefully considering approaches beyond the traditional IR canon. We will address questions like: What are the causes of war? How can we explain and prevent outbreaks of mass violence? How has the idea of security evolved and expanded? How do security scholars think about nuclear weapons? And how is modern warfare changing with the proliferation of new weapons technologies? Throughout, we will balance perspectives from mainstream security studies with critical security studies, as well as Global North perspectives with Global South perspectives to provide a comprehensive and modern understanding of the field.
INRE 33005 peace in international relations
Offered: Spring 2024
How has peace been theorized in the study of global politics? In this graduate elective, we take up the concept of 'peace' and explore the many ways it has been defined by scholars and pursued by policymakers and practitioners in the world. We consider questions like: Is peace the mere absence of war? How is peace experienced by individuals living in the aftermath of violent conflict? What are some of the markers of successful peace agreements? Who are agents of peace? How do states pursue peace? What is the relationship between peace and violence? Throughout the course, we will examine peace through multiple levels of analysis, including everyday individuals, elite policymakers, the State as actors, and international cooperative efforts. We will also explore various approaches to peacebuilding, including grassroots and top-down efforts, and pay careful attention to perspectives on peace and peacebuilding beyond Western, Eurocentric lenses. A key emphasis in this course will be connecting academic research to real-world applications of peace practices. As such, we will learn from both peace scholars and peace practitioners and will reflect throughout on the role of academia in understanding and building peace in the world.
Open to limited undergraduate registration.
How has peace been theorized in the study of global politics? In this graduate elective, we take up the concept of 'peace' and explore the many ways it has been defined by scholars and pursued by policymakers and practitioners in the world. We consider questions like: Is peace the mere absence of war? How is peace experienced by individuals living in the aftermath of violent conflict? What are some of the markers of successful peace agreements? Who are agents of peace? How do states pursue peace? What is the relationship between peace and violence? Throughout the course, we will examine peace through multiple levels of analysis, including everyday individuals, elite policymakers, the State as actors, and international cooperative efforts. We will also explore various approaches to peacebuilding, including grassroots and top-down efforts, and pay careful attention to perspectives on peace and peacebuilding beyond Western, Eurocentric lenses. A key emphasis in this course will be connecting academic research to real-world applications of peace practices. As such, we will learn from both peace scholars and peace practitioners and will reflect throughout on the role of academia in understanding and building peace in the world.
Open to limited undergraduate registration.
Previous Course Offerings
PS 4465 Feminist Political Theory
This undergraduate, upper-division political theory course provides an introduction to contemporary feminist political theories in an American and global context. Throughout the semester, we will examine political and interdisciplinary concepts and issues in relation to feminist theories. The goal of this course is, first, to understand the evolution of feminisms, both in theory and political practice. A second goal is to draw two kinds of connections: (a) between the innovations of feminist theories and broader topics in political science, and (b) between feminist theories and students’ daily practices and experiences. Major topics covered include: Intersectionality, Transnational Feminisms, Feminist Methods, Difference and Voice, Prison Abolition, and Performativity. Particular attention is paid to Black Feminist Thought in the U.S., and students will consider how intersectionality challenges the centrality of gender in feminist analyses by scrutinizing the ways in which race, class, religion, imperialism, capitalism, and sexuality affect our gender experiences.
PS 4893 Global and post-colonial feminisms in international relations
What does gender have to do with international politics? This undergraduate course provides an introduction to contemporary feminist political theories in International Relations (IR), with a special interest in exploring the intersections of gender with race, class, capitalism, colonialism, sexuality, and religion. Students are familiarized with the politics of theorizing International Relations (IR) and how feminist perspectives challenge and advance theories of International Relations. Using an interdisciplinary reading list, we consider how gender matters for understanding key issues in IR, including security, war, foreign policy, peace, borders, nuclear proliferation, deterrence, and colonialism. In an effort to expand what it means to study ‘the international,’ we will explore transnational issues of gender, race, and class, and build an understanding of the connections between post and de-colonial studies and the study of race and ethnic politics in America. On those terms, the class will consider how domestic racism, capitalism, and heteronormative hegemony at home are central to processes of global domination, exploitation, and resistance abroad