Courses Taught
As lead instructor:
Foundations of Political Theory (Fall 2022)
Foundations of Modern Political Thought (Fall 2022)
Feminism on the World Stage (Summer 2022)
Enthusiasm (Spring 2022)
Stasis and Spontaneity (Spring 2020)
Political Imagination in Modern Thought (Spring 2019)
As teaching assistant:
Introduction to Political Theory (Fall 2020, with Davide Panagia)
History of Modern Thought (Fall 2019-Winter 2020, with Giulia Sissa, Zrinka Stahuljak, Ted Porter, and Amir Alexander)
History of Modern Thought (Fall 2018-Winter 2019, with Sarah Kareem, Joshua Dienstag, Ted Porter, and Amir Alexander)
Introduction to American Politics (Spring 2017, with Thomas Schwartz)
Introduction to Political Theory (Winter 2017, with Brian Esparza Walker)
Introduction to Political Theory (Fall 2016, with Davide Panagia)
I am happy to provide syllabi and evaluations upon request.
As an educator with a normative commitment to democratic politics, I take the teaching about freedom and equality in a classroom structure where one person is in charge to be a difficult but ultimately generative dilemma for each class to face. In the classroom, I respect that imperative to equality by emphasizing a problem-first approach to the study of political texts. Students’ experiments in thinking critically about politics often begin from their own concerns about the world: beginning from their own questions enables me to respect their agency in setting the terms of their political studies. My student evaluations confirm that this starting point enables an ethos of mutual respect and makes it possible for a number of students to find their voice. As one student put it, “he really values our ideas and thoughts and allows us to guide our own discussion.” For another student, this style allows students “to reflect our own thoughts and establish what WE think rather than the TA just feeding information to us.” I make my classroom a space for the kind of egalitarian reflection where students can speak to one another as intellectual equals despite the enormous differences in knowledge that we all bring to the table. At UCLA, I’ve served as teaching assistant for introductory classes to Political Theory and American Politics, and “History of Modern Thought,” a writing-intensive year-long curriculum for first years. As part of this program, I also served as lead instructor for a class on democratic theory, and another on feminism, science, and the modern state. With ten quarters of undergraduate teaching experience, I’m prepared to offer introductory courses and advanced seminars on topics including the history of political thought; feminist, critical, and democratic theory; empire; jurisprudence; and the politics of science and literature.
Image: Étienne Léopold Trouvelot, The November Meteors (1882)