Undergraduate Level

Despite a flourishing research agenda that increasingly considers complexity and implements theory, foreign aid is often misunderstood by well-meaning policymakers or misconstrued by those with an agenda. This course is designed to provide perspective on the empirical realities of foreign aid. We will dive into the recent research on the causes and effects of aid, especially as they relate to politics and economics. The goal is to understand when foreign aid works and why it sometimes backfires, in order to craft better aid policy as practitioners and better research as scholars.

This course is an advanced seminar on nonviolent resistance. Students are expected to gain an understanding of the major causes, dynamics, and consequences of nonviolent resistance. Additionally, students will learn how to interpret and evaluate social science research. The course will focus on both theoretical approaches to nonviolence and the scientific study of nonviolence. The course will also explore empirical trends in nonviolent resistance.

An introduction to local government and politics in the U.S. context. The course explores the evolution of local jurisdictions, particularly cities, and the politics of local level decision making.

Seminar in Comparative Politics

Seminar in Comparative Politics,  An exploration of the political impact of nationalism. The course examines the nature and origins of nationalism, change and variation between civic forms of nationalism and both ethnic and religious nationalism, and how nationalism shapes and is shaped by domestic and foreign politics. The course will also explore the relationship between nationalism and populism in contemporary society.

Seminar in Comparative Politics

Seminar in Comparative Politics. 

Seminar in Political Philosophy.  A survey of political ideologies. The course begins by tracing the lineage of liberal democracy from Ancient Greece to modern conceptions of democracy. It then considers theoretical and political responses to this lineage, from within and out of the tradition.

An introduction to the persistent challenge of authoritarianism. The course explores the nature of authoritarianism and its evolution from ancient through modern times. Students will study how authoritarian regimes vary, why citizens sometimes comply with them, and when and how citizens rebel. The course concludes with a review of contemporary authoritarianism, focusing on its resilience in the Middle East and East Asia and its potential for a resurgence in the US and Europe.

Seminar in Comparative Politics.