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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 I also seek to encourage students to develop their intellectual interests and capabilities and work closely with students on improving their writing.<\/p>\n
Upcoming Programs<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n Spring 2017: Globalization and the Politics of Walls<\/strong>\u00a0This 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.<\/p>\n Fall\/Winter 2016-17: The Social Transformation of War<\/strong>\u00a0This 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.<\/p>\n Summer 2016: Arabic for Beginners\u00a0<\/strong>An introduction to basic written and conversational Arabic.<\/p>\n Spring 2016: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Roots of Terrorism<\/strong>\u00a0This 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.”<\/p>\n Current and Past Teaching<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Fall\/Winter 2015-16: Culture and Violence: The Middle East and Latin America<\/strong>\u00a0This 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.<\/p>\n Fall\/Winter\/Spring 2014-15<\/strong>:\u00a0Landscapes of Faith and Power in the Eastern Mediterranean<\/strong>\u00a0Middle East Studies program\u00a0with Spring Study Abroad <\/strong>to Turkey and Egypt.<\/p>\n Fall\/Winter 2013-14: Alternatives to Capitalist Globalization\u00a0<\/strong>This program will explore and critically analyze the diverse social movements and alternative visions for creating more just global and national institutions and societies.<\/p>\n Fall\/Winter\/Spring 2014-15<\/strong>: TBA: Middle East Studies program\u00a0with Spring Study Abroad <\/strong>to Turkey and Egypt.<\/p>\n Fall\/Winter 2013-14: Alternatives to Capitalist Globalization\u00a0<\/strong>This program will explore and critically analyze the diverse social movements and alternative visions for creating more just global and national institutions and societies.<\/p>\n Spring 2013: Beyond Protest: New Theories and Practices of Political Action<\/strong>\u00a0This program will explore the theory and practice of new forms of political action that go beyond familiar modes of public protest.<\/p>\n Fall\/Winter 2012: Transforming the Art of War<\/strong>\u00a0This program will explore how war is changing today, from counterinsurgency warfare, asymmetric warfare, robotic warfare to postmodern warfare, among other\u00a0topics.<\/p>\n Summer 2012: Arabic for Beginners\u00a0<\/strong>An introduction to basic written and conversational Arabic.<\/p>\n Spring 2012: US Foreign Policy and the Roots of Terrorism<\/strong>\u00a0 This program examined debates over the nature and causes of terrorism in the Middle East and considered alternatives to the policies adopted in the\u00a0 “war on terror.”<\/p>\n Summer 2011: Arabic for Beginners \u00a0<\/strong>An introduction to basic written and conversational Arabic.<\/p>\n Fall\/Winter\/Spring 2010-11: Memory and Conflict in the Eastern Mediterranean <\/strong>(co-taught with Ulrike Krotschek).\u00a0 Drawing primarily upon the fields of archaeology and political science, the program examined ways in which the historical past (objects, interpretations and memories)\u00a0is intertwined with contemporary political conflicts\u00a0over nation, state, identity and land in Egypt, Turkey and Israel-Palestine.\u00a0 Included study abroad<\/strong> to Turkey for 40 days (the Egypt trip was cancelled due to political developments).<\/p>\n Summer 2010:\u00a0Arabic for Beginners\u00a0<\/strong>An introduction to basic written and conversational Arabic.<\/p>\n Fall\/Winter 2009-2010:<\/strong>\u00a0Transforming the Art of War:\u00a0 From Clausewitz to Al-Qaida and Beyond<\/strong> This program will explore two questions:\u00a0 (1) how is war changing today? and (2) what is the future of war?\u00a0\u00a0 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.\u00a0 The program will also examine the rise of advanced robotics, computerized technology, information war, and globalized networks to explore the future of warfare.<\/p>\n Fall\/Winter\/Spring 2008-2009:<\/strong> Faculty Academic Advising Rotation<\/p>\n Spring 2008:<\/strong>\u00a0War:\u00a0 Consequences and Alternatives<\/strong> This program explores the nature of war and how it is changing in the late modern period.\u00a0 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:\u00a0 Michael Vavrus<\/p>\n Fall\/Winter 2007\/08:<\/strong>\u00a0Poetics and Power<\/strong> This program examined the politics of writing and the writing of politics through experimental and more representational modes of writing. Teaching Partner:\u00a0 Leonard Schwartz<\/p>\n Fall\/Winter\/Spring 2006-07:\u00a0From Bosphorus to Suez: Cultural and Political Landscapes of the Eastern Mediterranean<\/strong> 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:\u00a0 Martha Henderson<\/p>\n Spring 2006:\u00a0The Vietnam and Iraq Wars: Uncomfortable Parallels?<\/strong> This program examines the similarities and differences between these two cases of American foreign military intervention. Teaching Partner: Peter Bohmer<\/p>\n Fall\/Winter 2005\/06:\u00a0Alternatives to Capitalist Globalization<\/strong> 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:\u00a0 Lin Nelson, Peter Bohmer<\/p>\n Spring 2005:\u00a0The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Contending Narratives<\/strong> This program explores the roots and current nature of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.<\/p>\n Fall\/Winter 2004\/05:<\/strong>\u00a0Poetics and Power<\/strong> This program examined the politics of writing and the writing of politics through experimental and more representational modes of writing. Teaching Partner:\u00a0 Leonard Schwartz \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Spring 2004:\u00a0From Pillar to Postmodernism: Modern and Postmodern Political Theory<\/strong> This program introduced students to the dominant trends in contemporary political theory.<\/p>\n Fall\/Winter 2003\/04:<\/strong>\u00a0Nature, Nurture or Nonsense<\/strong> This program explores the debates over whether nature or nurture play the key role in human development, behavior and political life. Teaching Partners:\u00a0 Stu Matz, Stephanie Kozick<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 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.\u00a0 Hence, one of a professor’s main tasks is to identify important, interesting and open-ended questions that will guide the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/steveniva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/steveniva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/steveniva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/steveniva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/170"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/steveniva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/steveniva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.evergreen.edu\/steveniva\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}