I love teaching and working with students. I strive to make sure my courses have real-world applications.
Courses:
Media and Politics (POL 326) Syllabus
Part politics, part communications, part media literacy. The course explores the history of the media, its business structure and how it relates to campaigns, political institutions, and public opinion. Every time I teach this course I update the material in real time in order to reflect how the media is covering current events and Washington. This course has transformed significantly in order to capture the changes that have taken place in the wake of the 2016 election.
Political Psychology (POL 399 Special Topics) Syllabus
Why are some people conservatives and why are some liberals? How does politics affect us subconsciously? Does race shape our opinions of candidates and policies? Does a candidate's appearance affect our impression of them? How do academics study these questions? Political Psychology peels back the curtain of human thought and behavior in the political arena. It covers cognition, identity, perception, group influence, race and other topics, all while teaching you how to study them using data. This is an empirical-based class that challenges students to think like quantitative researchers.
Doing Research in Politics (POL 205) Syllabus
This class walks students through each step of the quantitative research process: forming a research question and hypothesis, writing a literature review, choosing a research method, measurement strategies, sampling and simple data analysis (using SPSS). The course also stresses science literacy and the meaning of scientific inquiry. Students will develop their own research question and write a research proposal. Some students have gone on to use their proposals from this class for Bachelors essays or Capstone projects.
Political Parties (POL 327) Syllabus
Much of American politics can be explained through the lens of parties and partisanship. This course discusses how the party system has transformed over time, how parties shape elections, how parties behave in Congress and how Americans develop psychological attachments to the party they identify with. Students will also assume the roles of American third parties and periodically debate each other on topics and issue "press releases" that serve as the party's response to real world legislation and events.
Introduction to American Politics (POLI 101)
This is a "greatest hits" survey course that moves through the working parts of American government from parties to the 3 branches to campaigns and elections. There is an emphasis on democratic principles and whether they are healthy in the current political environment. The "reform" debates are also central to the course. After we learn about each institutions (parties, Congress, Executive, Judicial, media etc.) we discuss and debate the changes some politicians and activists want to make to each of them so that students understand some of the controversies surrounding how we structure our government.
Ideology and Public Opinion (300 level) Syllabus
This course explores political ideology, public opinion and how the two do (or do not) intersect. Topics include: the major American ideologies, ideological identity, psychological differences between ideological groups, ideology & motivated reasoning, ideology & race, ideology & trust in government and ideological polarization, among other topics. There is also a focus on how public opinion forms and translates into survey data.
Capstone (Senior) Seminar courses:
Fall 2023 Capstone: Social Media and American Politics
This seminar investigates how social media has changed American elites, institutions and citizens in the short span of 20 years. Students will read peer-reviewed research about how social media- particularly Facebook, Twitter and Instagram- have affected elections, lawmakers, parties, journalism, public opinion, social movements and protest behavior, information consumption and radicalization, among other topics. Every students completes an independent research project related to social media and politics.
Spring 2020 Capstone: The Politics of Identity
You may have heard the phrase “identity politics” in recent years to describe how the Democratic Party caters to minority populations in regards to race, gender and sexual orientation. The truth is that identity politics is everywhere; it is not limited to the Democratic Party candidates. This course discusses many forms of identity and how they operate in American politics. This includes identities we don’t often think about such as white identities, regional identities (ex: Southerner identities) and issue identities such as being a gun owner. Every student completes an independent research project that has to do with identity in some way, shape or form.
Spring 2018 Capstone: "The 2016 Election in Hindsight".
Students read qualitative and journalistic work about the complexities of American lives over the last 10 years and how these experiences may have related to forces guiding the 2016 election outcome. At the end of each unit, we discussed the quantitative research showing how these experiences relate to voting patterns. For example, we read detailed journalism about the opiate crisis, the people it affects and how it has ravaged communities. Then we looked at data showing that areas with the highest number of opiate overdoses and despair deaths were more likely to vote for Donald Trump. Every student completes an independent research project that has to do with the 2016 election. Required readings: Strangers in their Own Land by Arlie Russell Hochschild, Dreamland by Sam Quinones, When Everything Changed by Gail Collins.
Courses:
Media and Politics (POL 326) Syllabus
Part politics, part communications, part media literacy. The course explores the history of the media, its business structure and how it relates to campaigns, political institutions, and public opinion. Every time I teach this course I update the material in real time in order to reflect how the media is covering current events and Washington. This course has transformed significantly in order to capture the changes that have taken place in the wake of the 2016 election.
Political Psychology (POL 399 Special Topics) Syllabus
Why are some people conservatives and why are some liberals? How does politics affect us subconsciously? Does race shape our opinions of candidates and policies? Does a candidate's appearance affect our impression of them? How do academics study these questions? Political Psychology peels back the curtain of human thought and behavior in the political arena. It covers cognition, identity, perception, group influence, race and other topics, all while teaching you how to study them using data. This is an empirical-based class that challenges students to think like quantitative researchers.
Doing Research in Politics (POL 205) Syllabus
This class walks students through each step of the quantitative research process: forming a research question and hypothesis, writing a literature review, choosing a research method, measurement strategies, sampling and simple data analysis (using SPSS). The course also stresses science literacy and the meaning of scientific inquiry. Students will develop their own research question and write a research proposal. Some students have gone on to use their proposals from this class for Bachelors essays or Capstone projects.
Political Parties (POL 327) Syllabus
Much of American politics can be explained through the lens of parties and partisanship. This course discusses how the party system has transformed over time, how parties shape elections, how parties behave in Congress and how Americans develop psychological attachments to the party they identify with. Students will also assume the roles of American third parties and periodically debate each other on topics and issue "press releases" that serve as the party's response to real world legislation and events.
Introduction to American Politics (POLI 101)
This is a "greatest hits" survey course that moves through the working parts of American government from parties to the 3 branches to campaigns and elections. There is an emphasis on democratic principles and whether they are healthy in the current political environment. The "reform" debates are also central to the course. After we learn about each institutions (parties, Congress, Executive, Judicial, media etc.) we discuss and debate the changes some politicians and activists want to make to each of them so that students understand some of the controversies surrounding how we structure our government.
Ideology and Public Opinion (300 level) Syllabus
This course explores political ideology, public opinion and how the two do (or do not) intersect. Topics include: the major American ideologies, ideological identity, psychological differences between ideological groups, ideology & motivated reasoning, ideology & race, ideology & trust in government and ideological polarization, among other topics. There is also a focus on how public opinion forms and translates into survey data.
Capstone (Senior) Seminar courses:
Fall 2023 Capstone: Social Media and American Politics
This seminar investigates how social media has changed American elites, institutions and citizens in the short span of 20 years. Students will read peer-reviewed research about how social media- particularly Facebook, Twitter and Instagram- have affected elections, lawmakers, parties, journalism, public opinion, social movements and protest behavior, information consumption and radicalization, among other topics. Every students completes an independent research project related to social media and politics.
Spring 2020 Capstone: The Politics of Identity
You may have heard the phrase “identity politics” in recent years to describe how the Democratic Party caters to minority populations in regards to race, gender and sexual orientation. The truth is that identity politics is everywhere; it is not limited to the Democratic Party candidates. This course discusses many forms of identity and how they operate in American politics. This includes identities we don’t often think about such as white identities, regional identities (ex: Southerner identities) and issue identities such as being a gun owner. Every student completes an independent research project that has to do with identity in some way, shape or form.
Spring 2018 Capstone: "The 2016 Election in Hindsight".
Students read qualitative and journalistic work about the complexities of American lives over the last 10 years and how these experiences may have related to forces guiding the 2016 election outcome. At the end of each unit, we discussed the quantitative research showing how these experiences relate to voting patterns. For example, we read detailed journalism about the opiate crisis, the people it affects and how it has ravaged communities. Then we looked at data showing that areas with the highest number of opiate overdoses and despair deaths were more likely to vote for Donald Trump. Every student completes an independent research project that has to do with the 2016 election. Required readings: Strangers in their Own Land by Arlie Russell Hochschild, Dreamland by Sam Quinones, When Everything Changed by Gail Collins.
