Teaching

At Albany, I have worked as a teaching assistant for two years and then as an adjunct professor for two more years. My department selected me for the Political Science Outstanding Adjunct Instructor Award in 2023. I have also been nominated for my university’s Torch Faculty/Student Engagement Award, given to one professor every year for their life-changing impact on their students.

Below, please find the descriptions of the courses I taught.

Violent Political Conflict

This course offers an introduction to the study of violent political conflict. The lectures and readings are designed to explore (1) political, economic, social, and psychological sources of conflicts, (2) regime dynamics in political violence, (3) different forms of political violence, and (4) conflict resolution. In addition to the traditional debates in the literature, the course aims to discuss how contemporary developments (technological, ecological, etc.) affect the conflict processes. At the end of the course, students are expected to develop the necessary skills that will help them think about violent political conflicts analytically.

Information Technology and World Politics

This 3-credit course provides a broad overview of how information technologies transform our traditional understanding of world politics. It addresses a wide range of policy-relevant issues: How do new technologies change key concepts of international politics, such as power, security, and the international system? What are the consequences of new technologies for states, non-state actors, and their interactions? Do new technologies beget more conflicts or facilitate the peaceful resolution of conflicts? By the end of the course, students are expected to have developed the necessary analytical skills to answer these questions.

Research Seminar in Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity

This course provides an introduction to the social science research process – how researchers (in academia, government agencies, and the private sector) use observations about the world to find evidence-based answers to pressing questions. Throughout the semester, students will practice synthesizing existing research, writing research questions, and creating a research plan that could provide evidence-based answers to research questions. Students will also think about what counts as “data” and consider what it means to conduct ethical research in the social sciences. By the end of the semester, students will have a greater appreciation for just how difficult it can be to answer empirical questions. Students will also be a savvy reader of arguments that are based on evidence, better able to identify flaws in those arguments. This means students will also be better at developing those arguments themselves, gaining practice through iteratively writing components of a research proposal.