I teach Political Science as a discipline that gives students not just information about the world, but frameworks for reasoning about it. My courses train students to move between competing theoretical lenses, apply them to real-world cases, and understand how those choices shape what becomes visible or explainable. I emphasize active learning, conceptual clarity, and an environment where students feel confident engaging with complex ideas.
I have served as Instructor of Record for courses across international relations and American politics, including Introduction to International Relations, United States Government, College Teaching for Political Science (graduate level), and my signature course, Terrorism, Radicalization, and Extremism, which draws on my research on extremism and radicalization and uses interdisciplinary, case-based analysis to examine political violence. My teaching experience spans large introductory courses, small seminars, and fully online asynchronous formats.
Teaching Areas:
International Relations
International Security
Terrorism and Extremism
Radicalization
Political Violence
American Politics
American Foreign Policy
Gender and Politics
Courses I am Prepared to Teach
Introduction to International Relations; International Security; Terrorism and Political Violence; Extremism and Radicalization; Introduction to American Politics; American Foreign Policy; Gender and Politics; Nationalism and Popular Culture, and related courses in international relations, political violence, and security studies.
Selected Course Materials
This course examines how individuals and groups adopt extremist beliefs and engage in political violence. Students explore the historical evolution of terrorism, contested definitions of radicalization, ideological and misogynistic movements, youth pathways, and digital ecosystems. The course also evaluates counterterrorism and deradicalization strategies, preparing students to analyze emerging threats in domestic and transnational contexts.
This course introduces students to the major theories and debates that shape world politics. Students learn how Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism, Feminism, and critical approaches offer competing explanations for war, cooperation, identity, inequality, and global governance. Through case-based analysis and contemporary issues, from non-state actors to AI, students practice applying theoretical frameworks to real-world international challenges.
American Foreign Policy [pdf]
This course examines how the United States understands its interests, makes foreign policy decisions, and responds to international challenges. Students explore the major theoretical traditions in international relations and analyze how domestic institutions, public opinion, interest groups and bureaucratic politics shape U,S behavior abroad. Students learn to evaluate foreign policy choices using evidence based frameworks, compare competing explanations for U.S. actions, and developed analytical tools for understanding America's role in the world.
International Security [pdf]
This course examines how states, non-state actors, and emerging technologies shape the landscape of global security in the twenty-first century. Students explore foundational theories and analyze why wars occur, how they are fought, and how actors pursue power and survival in an anarchic international system. Students learn to evaluate competing frameworks, assess evolving threats, and develop analytical tools for understanding how security is defined and practiced in global politics.
Nationalism and Popular Culture [pdf]
This course explores how nations are imagined, constructed, and contested through everyday cultural forms, including film, television, music, food, sport, memes, and digital media. Students examine how race, gender, colonialism, and globalization shape national identity, and analyze how popular culture reproduces, challenges, or transforms ideas about belonging.
United States Government [pdf]
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to American political institutions, behavior, and contemporary political challenges. Students examine constitutional design, federalism, Congress, the presidency, courts, political parties, elections, public opinion, and civil rights. Through assignments connecting course concepts to current events, students develop the analytical tools needed to understand how power operates in the U.S. political system and how citizens shape political outcomes.