I have taught courses in political science and international relations at Trinity College, Eckerd College and Stetson University. These include Introduction to International Relations, Introduction to Political Science, International Law, International Organizations, Human Rights in World Politics, Ethics and International Relations, and Dilemmas of American Power. Below are course descriptions from some of these courses.

Introduction to International Relations

Course Description: This course surveys some primary theoretical paradigms of International Relations (IR) theory including realism, liberalism, constructivism, and post-colonial approaches in order to examine their theoretical commitments, worldviews, and internal logics. We use these theories to work through some history, concepts, and problems in international politics. We also develop an understanding of specific international phenomenon such as international trade, the growth of international law, the threat of global terror, contemporary nuclear politics, global migration and displacement, and human rights. The primary questions this course addresses include: What makes politics “international”? Where does international order and disorder come from? How do states practice sovereignty? And, how do international processes shape the domestic politics within states? Each week is divided into a theoretical discussion, discussion of a scholarly article, and then discussion of a policy/popular media piece.

Global Nuclear Politics

Course Description: Nuclear politics dominates headlines in contemporary international relations. From the growing threat of nuclear proliferation to controversies over the safety and security of nuclear weapons stockpiles to the growth of local anti-nuclear activism around the world, the conflict over nuclear energy and weaponry continues to be a major site of contestation in global politics. How can we understand the development of nuclear technology and its international and domestic consequences? What is the relationship between this technological development and politics, both local and interstate? This course explores both the historical development of and contemporary conflicts surrounding the growth of nuclear technology. We take an interdisciplinary approach to the study of nuclear politics by combining perspectives from physics, history, sociology, and political science. We start with an examination of nuclear technology, highlighting some technical and scientific details about nuclear energy and its potential weaponization. We then discuss the logic of deterrence and address other logics of nuclear desire, including the military and symbolic value of nuclear weaponry. We will then move onto the legal regime that governs the growth of nuclear technology and weapons. From a discussion of international politics, we then turn to the way that the growth of nuclear technology affects domestic politics through a discussion of nuclear safety and nuclear accidents around the world. The second half of the course will use the resources of the first half of the course explore nuclear proliferation in regional contexts including East Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East.

International Law

Course Description: This course surveys the main sources, treaties, theoretical debates, and practices of international law in international politics. Starting from the landmark Lotus principle, which established that sovereign states are allowed to conduct any behavior that is not explicitly prohibited by international law, to the contemporary legal challenges surrounding the conduct of war, this course explores how the international legal system works from both a political and legal perspective. We will attempt to understand the sources and texts of international law but our primary task is not to determine legality and illegality but to investigate the way international law shapes international society. We begin with a foundational discussion the sources and subjects of international law along with jurisdiction issues and then cover the primary arbiters of international law including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. We then move to specific legal regimes that govern warmaking, nuclear and chemical weapons, the oceans, the environment, trade, and human rights. These explorations include ongoing questions such China’s actions in the South China Sea, trade wars among the great powers, and the use of drones to fight terrorism.  

Other Teaching Awards and Fellowships:

Searle Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning, Graduate Teaching Fellow

2015 R. Barry Farrell Teaching Assistant Award Recipient