Teaching
I teach undergraduate and graduate courses in:
Several of the courses that I teach count toward history, business administration, and other degree programs.
GLO 100 Introduction to Global Studies
This course provides people with an opportunity to learn how to understand and address complex problems related to global interconnectedness. We examine peoples and cultures, international organizations, and the natural environment from multiple perspectives. Assignments include working with partners in the local community.
POL 334 Contemporary Asia
This course looks at the politics and history of Asia—one of the most important and rapidly changing regions in the world. Special attention is given to China, Japan, and India. Topics include the effects of traditional cultures on modern politics, the era of independence and nationalism, democratization, industrialization, and international relations in Asia.
POL 330 Global Development
What are the causes, effects, and ethical implications of development? Topics include the the nature and extent of poverty in today’s world, colonialism and its legacy, the international economic system, and how wealth and power affect the allocation of scarce resources.
POL 240 Comparative Politics
The central objective of this course is to provide people with an opportunity to acquire some sense of what they do and do not know about the world – by looking at how culture, history, geography, and economics influence politics in different societies, and why political institutions and patterns of political behavior vary from one part of the world to another.
INR 586 Politics of the Middle East
What explains the reality behind the headlines about the Middle East? Specific topics in this course include Islam, nationalism, the foreign relations of states in the region, the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and prospects for democratization.
INR 572 Complex Humanitarian Emergencies
This course has three main objectives: 1) examine how the destructive effects of complex humanitarian emergencies (CHEs) can be prevented or mitigated, 2) learn about the connections between human security, development, and humanitarian crises, and 3) assess the usefulness of local, national, and international organizations when responding to CHEs. The Indonesian tsunami, the earthquake in Haiti, the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and Ebola serve as some of the case studies.
INR 533 International Political Economy
What is the relationships between the individual, the market, and the state? This course attempts to answer that question with a discussion of the causes of economic growth, followed by an examination of the structure and performance of markets, and the economic effects of public policy. Throughout the course there is an emphasis on identifying how the incentives of actors and the relevant institutional constraints (“rules of the game”) affect outcomes.
