I teach a wide range of courses in American politics. My core undergraduate offerings include courses that concern identity politics, judicial politics, media, and popular culture. While my pedagogical approach is informed by my identity and my own experience attending a small, private, liberal arts college in Ohio, my approach to teaching has always been informed by my overarching desire to help students further develop into informed global citizens, prepare for our rapidly and radically changing world, and succeed. I have adopted a set of student-centered active-learning methods that help me achieve these goals including engaging with primary and secondary sources, having students reflect on and share their own narratives, analyzing data in the classroom via case study analysis, group discussions, written assignments and presentations, and experiential learning via research, service learning, and field work.
Please see below for the descriptions of the courses I have taught since 2016.
POLI 140 American Politics: Groups, Revolutions, and Political Movements
This course is a study of the origins, development, structure, and functions of the American Political System and government. First, students are (re)introduced to the system’s historical roots, and the major political and policy-making institutions of the national government. The second half of the course focuses on mass political behavior and interests, and the following topics are covered: public opinion, mass media, political participation, and campaigns and elections. In the course, an emphasis is placed on factors and groups that shape American politics, such as the digital and social media revolutions, social movements, racial/ethnic minorities, and the Millennial generation. The course incorporates contemporary political events and situations such as the 2016 presidential election, judicial vacancies, and recent social movements.
POLI 234 Media and Politics
Much of our exposure to politics and government comes from mediated sources. This course is designed to help students examine and understand the role media play in politics. Central topics include 1) historical and current conceptualizations of “media”; 2) the relationship between media, and electoral politics, citizens’ political knowledge, and policy-making; 3) the limitations and advantages of media sources and journalists; 4) the politics of race, class, and gender in media. In addition to scholarly texts, we consult and analyze various forms of mass media, including print media, broadcast media, movies, and the internet.
POLI 245 Courts, Judges, and American Judicial Politics
This course examines the central issues in Judicial Politics and the principal questions asked within the subfield. Among other topics, students will consider the role of the courts in the American political system, the structure of the federal and state judiciaries, the judicial selection process, the nature of decision-making, inter-branch relations and conflict within the judicial hierarchy, public opinion on the institution, and the social impact of courts. In the course, special emphasis is placed on exploring how and why U.S. courts are political institutions and American judges are political actors.
AFRS/POLI 248 Racial and Ethnic Group Politics in Popular Culture
Popular culture often affects and depicts public opinion on prominent social and political issues, and attitudes towards racial and ethnic groups. In this course, students think critically about the ways popular culture influences and reflect U.S. racial and ethnic group politics. Students consider how popular culture portrays and provides insights into government actions and policies toward various racial and ethnic groups, race relations and prospects for political coalitions, group responses to discrimination, and Americans’ perceptions and attitudes on a number of cultural, political, social and policy dimensions. Among the topics studied are the following: aspects of the political histories of various groups in the U.S., anti-miscegenation and anti-interracial relationship attitudes, 20th and 21st-century race relations, immigration and citizenship, political resistance, mobilization, empowerment and participation, and racial group membership, identity, and consciousness. These topics are examined throughout the semester by reading scholarly texts and analyzing music videos, television shows, motion pictures, and documentaries.
AFRS/POLI 346 Race and Gender in Judicial Politics
This seminar explores the centrality of race/ethnicity and gender in the American judicial process and system. The course is designed to promote and facilitate healthy discussions and debates about the level, nature, and importance of judicial diversity in the American justice system. After examining the diversity levels on the state and federal bench and how those levels have changed over the last century, students consider factors that improve and/or limit judicial diversity such as the selection process and evaluations of judicial performance. Afterward, students explore the value of judicial diversity. Special attention is given to judicial decision-making behavior and the extent to which the courts protect minority rights and provide redress for historical injustices. The course concludes with students considering the issues presently facing our legal systems such as mass incarceration, the proliferation of for-profit prisons, racial and gender bias in the criminal justice system, and demands for criminal justice reform.