I teach courses on comparative politics, Latin America, and political analysis/research design. Introduction to Comparative Politics offers undergraduates a comprehensive overview and introduction to the field of comparative politics. Introduction to Political Analysis introduces undergraduate students to the basics of research design and quantitative analysis. During the 2019-20 academic year, I taught an upper-level course on Latin American politics. Click here to download my statement of teaching philosophy.
Latin American Politics
Download Syllabus (Fall 2019)
This course is an introduction to contemporary politics in Latin America. It is designed to expose students to many of the central questions in the current study of Latin American politics and the key theories that scholars have developed to answer these questions. More specifically, the class will address questions related to democracy and representation, political institutions, political engagement and participation, and economic inequality. Moreover, this class is designed to make students more informed citizens of the world. By the end of the semester, students will be able to:
Introduction to Political Analysis
Download Syllabus (Fall 2020)
This course is meant to familiarize students with political science research methodology, as well as how to understand and conduct political science research. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to identify and locate academic sources on a variety of political and social science topics, to identify the particular research designs used in these studies, to identify the strengths and weaknesses of these studies, and to utilize these publications and research methods in future political science courses. The primary objective of this course is to give students the skills they need to be effective consumers of political science research. Specifically, this course will enable students to achieve the following goals:
Introduction to Comparative Politics
Download Syllabus (Spring 2020)
This course is an introduction to comparative politics. It is designed to expose students to many of the central questions in the study of comparative politics and the key theories that scholars have developed to best answer these questions. More specifically, the class addresses questions regarding varieties of dictatorships, democracy, political institutions, political parties and elections, political identity and diversity, and political economy. This course prepares students for more advanced courses in comparative politics, and it makes students more informed citizens of the world.
Teaching Experience:
Comparative Politics of Developing Countries (Fall 2020)
Introduction to Comparative Politics (Spring 2021, Fall 2020*, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Summer 2018* Spring 2017, Fall 2015)
Latin American Politics (Spring 2020, Fall 2019)
Introduction to Political Analysis (Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2016)
Selected Topics in Comparative Politics: The Politics of Class and Inequality (Spring 2021, Summer 2020*)
Selected Topics in Comparative Politics: Representation in Democracies (Summer 2021*)
Selected Topics in Comparative Politics: Women's Political Representation (Summer 2020*)
Texas Politics and Topics (Summer 2021, Costa Rica campus)
*denotes online instruction
Latin American Politics
Download Syllabus (Fall 2019)
This course is an introduction to contemporary politics in Latin America. It is designed to expose students to many of the central questions in the current study of Latin American politics and the key theories that scholars have developed to answer these questions. More specifically, the class will address questions related to democracy and representation, political institutions, political engagement and participation, and economic inequality. Moreover, this class is designed to make students more informed citizens of the world. By the end of the semester, students will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of concepts and methods of political science in the Latin American context.
- Critically assess the validity of major theories in Comparative Politics in explaining political events in contemporary Latin America.
- Demonstrate knowledge of the political history of Latin America and current political events.
- Critically assess the main challenges and opportunities for the continuity of democracy in various Latin American countries.
- Use quantitative data to assess the generalizability of core case studies to the rest of Latin America.
- Communicate trends and patterns in quantitative data to a general audience.
Introduction to Political Analysis
Download Syllabus (Fall 2020)
This course is meant to familiarize students with political science research methodology, as well as how to understand and conduct political science research. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to identify and locate academic sources on a variety of political and social science topics, to identify the particular research designs used in these studies, to identify the strengths and weaknesses of these studies, and to utilize these publications and research methods in future political science courses. The primary objective of this course is to give students the skills they need to be effective consumers of political science research. Specifically, this course will enable students to achieve the following goals:
- Understand the basic goals of social science research
- Identify and differentiate between a number diverse research methods currently employed by political scientists (emphasis on quantitative methods)
- Be able to locate and summarize peer reviewed sources through library databases
- Learn how to formulate an appropriate research question, develop testable hypotheses, and operationalize concepts in order to test said hypotheses
- Have a working knowledge of basic descriptive statistics, as well as be able to interpret the types of regression analyses that appear in published articles
- Gain enhanced collaboration and presentation skills.
Introduction to Comparative Politics
Download Syllabus (Spring 2020)
This course is an introduction to comparative politics. It is designed to expose students to many of the central questions in the study of comparative politics and the key theories that scholars have developed to best answer these questions. More specifically, the class addresses questions regarding varieties of dictatorships, democracy, political institutions, political parties and elections, political identity and diversity, and political economy. This course prepares students for more advanced courses in comparative politics, and it makes students more informed citizens of the world.
Teaching Experience:
Comparative Politics of Developing Countries (Fall 2020)
Introduction to Comparative Politics (Spring 2021, Fall 2020*, Spring 2020, Fall 2019, Summer 2018* Spring 2017, Fall 2015)
Latin American Politics (Spring 2020, Fall 2019)
Introduction to Political Analysis (Spring 2021, Fall 2020, Spring 2016)
Selected Topics in Comparative Politics: The Politics of Class and Inequality (Spring 2021, Summer 2020*)
Selected Topics in Comparative Politics: Representation in Democracies (Summer 2021*)
Selected Topics in Comparative Politics: Women's Political Representation (Summer 2020*)
Texas Politics and Topics (Summer 2021, Costa Rica campus)
*denotes online instruction
Service
During the 2016-2017 academic year, I served as the graduate student faculty representative for the political science department at the University of Kentucky.
In 2015, I served as the conference assistant for Visions in Methodology (VIM). VIM conferences developed through the work of the Society for Political Methodology's Diversity Committee and are made possible with the support of an NSF grant. VIM conferences bring female scholars together in a small-scale setting to present cutting-edge research on topics related to political methodology. With financial support from the Gaines Center for the Humanities, we were also able to organize a pre-conference workshop on political violence. Information about the 2015 VIM conference can be found here.
I have previously served as a journal referee for Governance, Journal of Women, Politics, & Policy, Public Integrity, Public Opinion Quarterly, Latin American Politics & Society, Latin American Research Review, Police Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, and Research & Politics. I served in panel chair and discussant roles at the APSA (2017) and MPSA (2018) annual meetings.
During the 2016-2017 academic year, I served as the graduate student faculty representative for the political science department at the University of Kentucky.
In 2015, I served as the conference assistant for Visions in Methodology (VIM). VIM conferences developed through the work of the Society for Political Methodology's Diversity Committee and are made possible with the support of an NSF grant. VIM conferences bring female scholars together in a small-scale setting to present cutting-edge research on topics related to political methodology. With financial support from the Gaines Center for the Humanities, we were also able to organize a pre-conference workshop on political violence. Information about the 2015 VIM conference can be found here.
I have previously served as a journal referee for Governance, Journal of Women, Politics, & Policy, Public Integrity, Public Opinion Quarterly, Latin American Politics & Society, Latin American Research Review, Police Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, and Research & Politics. I served in panel chair and discussant roles at the APSA (2017) and MPSA (2018) annual meetings.