Approach to Teaching:
A basic premise of my educational philosophy, similar to that of John Dewey and others, is that critical thinking emerges from the learner’s engagement with questions, and with contending answers to these questions. Hence, one of a professor’s main tasks is to identify important, interesting and open-ended questions that will guide the learning of the course over a quarter or more. Equally important, I seek to develop strategies for creating a course atmosphere that encourages inquiry, exploration, discussion and debate, while valuing the dignity and worth of each student. I believe it is important to challenge students to re-think their own views and presumptions, which may sometimes provoke discomfort, but also I take great care to ensure space for all views and perspectives. To that end, I often use various combinations of lecture, student-centered workshops, student presentations, debates and performances, and I frequently bring in films, video clips and other items to spur discussion. I also seek to encourage students to develop their intellectual interests and capabilities and work closely with students on improving their writing.
Upcoming Programs
Spring 2017: Globalization and the Politics of Walls This global politics program will examine the proliferation of walls in contemporary global society through detailed case studies and theoretical writings in order to understand why wall-building is on the rise today, how these walls affects various populations and why many people are resisting these walls.
Fall/Winter 2016-17: The Social Transformation of War This program will explore how the nature and practice of warfare typically reflect the sociological conditions, technologies, and strategies of power and resistance within societies of a particular era. For example, today social media, such as Twitter and YouTube, are employed as weapons of war by increasingly transnational and networked actors who operate in a global environment through the tools of information-age society.
Summer 2016: Arabic for Beginners An introduction to basic written and conversational Arabic.
Spring 2016: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Roots of Terrorism This program examines debates over the nature and causes of terrorism in the Middle East and examines the policies adopted in the current “war on terror.”
Current and Past Teaching
Fall/Winter 2015-16: Culture and Violence: The Middle East and Latin America This program examines how violence both unmakes and makes culture, and how cultural actors respond to violence through writing, the arts and other interventions, looking at cases from both Latin America and the Middle East.
Fall/Winter/Spring 2014-15: Landscapes of Faith and Power in the Eastern Mediterranean Middle East Studies program with Spring Study Abroad to Turkey and Egypt.
Fall/Winter 2013-14: Alternatives to Capitalist Globalization This program will explore and critically analyze the diverse social movements and alternative visions for creating more just global and national institutions and societies.
Fall/Winter/Spring 2014-15: TBA: Middle East Studies program with Spring Study Abroad to Turkey and Egypt.
Fall/Winter 2013-14: Alternatives to Capitalist Globalization This program will explore and critically analyze the diverse social movements and alternative visions for creating more just global and national institutions and societies.
Spring 2013: Beyond Protest: New Theories and Practices of Political Action This program will explore the theory and practice of new forms of political action that go beyond familiar modes of public protest.
Fall/Winter 2012: Transforming the Art of War This program will explore how war is changing today, from counterinsurgency warfare, asymmetric warfare, robotic warfare to postmodern warfare, among other topics.
Summer 2012: Arabic for Beginners An introduction to basic written and conversational Arabic.
Spring 2012: US Foreign Policy and the Roots of Terrorism This program examined debates over the nature and causes of terrorism in the Middle East and considered alternatives to the policies adopted in the “war on terror.”
Summer 2011: Arabic for Beginners An introduction to basic written and conversational Arabic.
Fall/Winter/Spring 2010-11: Memory and Conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean (co-taught with Ulrike Krotschek). Drawing primarily upon the fields of archaeology and political science, the program examined ways in which the historical past (objects, interpretations and memories) is intertwined with contemporary political conflicts over nation, state, identity and land in Egypt, Turkey and Israel-Palestine. Included study abroad to Turkey for 40 days (the Egypt trip was cancelled due to political developments).
Summer 2010: Arabic for Beginners An introduction to basic written and conversational Arabic.
Fall/Winter 2009-2010: Transforming the Art of War: From Clausewitz to Al-Qaida and Beyond This program will explore two questions: (1) how is war changing today? and (2) what is the future of war? The program will examine current theoretical discussions about the rise of asymmetric war, fourth generation war, virtual war and counterinsurgency doctrine through a focus on case-studies from Iraq, Israel and Hezbollah, and the Zapatista movement in Mexico, among others. The program will also examine the rise of advanced robotics, computerized technology, information war, and globalized networks to explore the future of warfare.
Fall/Winter/Spring 2008-2009: Faculty Academic Advising Rotation
Spring 2008: War: Consequences and Alternatives This program explores the nature of war and how it is changing in the late modern period. It looks at the moral and psychological impacts of war, the poetry and writing of war, the transformation of war from industrial to asymmetrical and non-violent alternatives to war. Teaching Partner: Michael Vavrus
Fall/Winter 2007/08: Poetics and Power This program examined the politics of writing and the writing of politics through experimental and more representational modes of writing. Teaching Partner: Leonard Schwartz
Fall/Winter/Spring 2006-07: From Bosphorus to Suez: Cultural and Political Landscapes of the Eastern Mediterranean This program will explore the cultural and political interactions that have shaped and defined the peoples and lands of the Eastern Mediterranean, including the countries of what are known today as Greece, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel-Palestine, and Egypt. Teaching Partner: Martha Henderson
Spring 2006: The Vietnam and Iraq Wars: Uncomfortable Parallels? This program examines the similarities and differences between these two cases of American foreign military intervention. Teaching Partner: Peter Bohmer
Fall/Winter 2005/06: Alternatives to Capitalist Globalization This program explores the theory, programs and movements in the world today that are attempting to develop alternatives social and economic systems and policies to the current forms of free-trade and free-market globalization. Teaching Partners: Lin Nelson, Peter Bohmer
Spring 2005: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Contending Narratives This program explores the roots and current nature of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
Fall/Winter 2004/05: Poetics and Power This program examined the politics of writing and the writing of politics through experimental and more representational modes of writing. Teaching Partner: Leonard Schwartz
Spring 2004: From Pillar to Postmodernism: Modern and Postmodern Political Theory This program introduced students to the dominant trends in contemporary political theory.
Fall/Winter 2003/04: Nature, Nurture or Nonsense This program explores the debates over whether nature or nurture play the key role in human development, behavior and political life. Teaching Partners: Stu Matz, Stephanie Kozick