Biographical Notes
I was born in Seattle in 1966 and then lived in Europe, the Middle East and other parts of the United States before returning to Everett, WA where I graduated from Everett High School in 1984. I obtained a B.A. in Political Science and Middle East Studies at The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA in 1988. I lived in Washington DC for two years, working for Middle Eastern political magazines, before attending graduate school at Columbia University where I obtained a Ph.D. in Political Science and International Politics with a specialization in the Middle East. I taught international politics at American University and Georgetown University in Washington DC, as well as a one-year position at Clark University in Worcester, MA in 1998. I began teaching at The Evergreen State College in 1999.
Professional and Teaching Experience
The Evergreen State College, Member of the Faculty, Fall, 1999 to present. Converted to permanent faculty in 2003 (“Associate Professor”). Classes and Programs taught include: Imagining the Middle East and South Asia; Landscapes of Faith and Power in the Middle East; Memory and Conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean; Cultural and Political Landscapes of the Eastern Mediterranean; Culture and Violence: Middle East and Latin America; Human Rights: Culture and Context; Seeking Justice: Restitution, Reconciliation; The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict; Poetics and Power; Transforming the Art of War; War: Consequences and Alternatives; U.S. Foreign Policy and the Roots of Terrorism; Cities and Foreign Policy. Faculty Academic Advisor, 2007.
Clark University, Visiting Assistant Professor of Government and International Relations, Fall 1998-Spring 1999. Courses taught: FALL: Intro. to IR, Arab-Israeli Conflict, SPRING: Culture and Conflict in Global Politics, Rise and Fall of the Nation-State System, Modern Political Theory
Georgetown University, Adjunct Professor, Senior Seminar in the Program in Justice and Peace, Spring, 1998.
American University, Adjunct Professor, Peace & Conflict Resolution Semester, Washington Semester Program, Fall, 1997. Co-organized and co-lead 26 students on a three-week study/tour of the Middle East to examine the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
American University, Lecturer, School of International Service, Fall and Spring, 1994-1995. Courses taught: Theories of International Politics, Introduction to World Politics, and Beyond Sovereignty inWorld Politics.
Columbia University, Coordinator, Graduate International Relations Seminar, 1993-1994.
Council for International Exchange of Scholars, (CIES, Fulbright Scholars Program), Education Materials Assistant Coordinator, 1989-1990.
Middle East Report (Middle East Research and Information Project, MERIP), Editorial Assistant, Occasional Staff Writer, 1988-89.
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, (American Educational Trust), Assistant to Office Manager and Circulation Department, 1988.
Education
Ph.D. Columbia University, New York, NY. Political Science, 2003. Major field: International Relations, minor field: Political Theory, area specialization: Middle East.
- Dissertation: Title: “Rival Sovereignties in the Middle East State-System.” Committee: Chair: Dr. Jack Snyder, Dr. Hendrik Spruyt, Arizona State University; Dr. F. Gregory Gause III, The University of Vermont.
B.A. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. Government and Foreign Affairs, 1988. Concentration: Foreign Affairs, Middle East politics and Political Philosophy.
Foreign Languages
Arabic: Above Intermediate Written and Spoken Dialects Bir-Zeit University, Intensive summer semester, written and colloquial. Columbia University, 4 Semesters written standard. American University in Cairo, Intensive summer semester, written and colloquial. Middle East Institute, Washington D.C., 1 semester written and 1 semester spoken. University of Virginia, 6 Semesters written standard.
French: Reading The American University, 1 Semester reading class. Columbia University, 1 Semester intensive review. Everett High School, 3 years