TEACHING
Since the Winter 2018 semester, I've had the privilege of teaching Political Science and Methodology courses in the Department of Economics and Political Science. One of the amazing parts about teaching at Champlain College is that I get to interact with students from so many different programs: regular political science and methodology courses for Social Science and International Studies students, and complementary courses in political science for non-social science students. While I generally specialize in international relations and public opinion courses at the university level, I get the opportunity at Champlain to teach the full range of political science subjects. Here are a list of the courses I've taught.
Program Courses in Political Science
Introduction to Political Science
Politics determines who gets what, when, and how in society. Students will explore the institutions and processes of political life. It introduces you not only to basic concepts and theories of political science at the local, regional, national, and international levels, but also to current political events and issues. Topics covered include: democratic vs. nondemocratic governments; rights and freedoms; political knowledge and political participation; and constitutions, laws, and legal systems.
Fields: Political Science
Subfields: Canadian and Quebec Politics; Comparative Politics; Political Behaviour; International Relations; Political Theory
Years Taught: Fall 2021; Fall 2024
Comparative Politics
This Level II course helps the student develop and apply the comparative method to the study of political systems in the contemporary world. It focuses on contemporary forms of government, political cultures, ideologies, constitutional frameworks, designs of governmental institutions, party systems, interest groups, electoral systems and public policy. Topics covered in the course: the comparative method in political science; comparative theoretical frameworks; industrialized democracies; current and former communist regimes; developing and less developed political regimes; selected area studies including Europe, North America, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia.
Fields: Political Science
Subfields: Comparative Politics
Years Taught: Winter 2023
World Politics (formerly International Politics)
Why do countries go to war? Why is international cooperation so difficult to achieve, particularly on issues like climate change? What are the effects of globalization on the global economy, on global health, on inequality, and on society? What is international law and how does it function? World Politics is the study of conflict and cooperation in the world. Students are first introduced to the key concepts and theories of international relations. Students then explore how these theories help explain conflict, crisis, and war; international organizations; international law; trade, finance, and development; global health; and environmental and climate politics.
Fields: Political Science
Subfields: International Relations
Years Taught: Winter 2018-2024; Fall 2024
War Games: Simulating Military Strategy
Strategic Studies deals with the use of military power by governments and non-governmental actors to serve political ends. Students will be introduced to the concepts and theories of strategic studies, including strategy and tactics; the use of land, sea, and air power; the use of nuclear weapons; escalation and de-escalation of war; and terrorism. Students will gain practical experience in applying these theories and concepts through a variety of interactive simulations and case studies. Students will also explore the effects of military strategy games, first-person shooter games, and role-playing games on perceptions of the military and politics.
Fields: Political Science
Subfields: International Relations
Years Taught: Winter 2025
Multidisciplinary Courses in the Social Sciences (for non-Social Science students)
Contemporary Global Issues
The world around us is continually changing. Each year, we see the emergence of issues that require our immediate attention, including wars, environmental degradation, economic crises, the spread of disease, humanitarian crises, and many more. Yet despite the urgent need for action, it is often difficult to understand these complex issues. Students first learn to evaluate news and social media sources in order to gain the ability to critically analyze emerging issues. Students then actively apply concepts and theories from Economics, Geography, History, and Political Science in seminar discussions to gain a better understanding of contemporary issues of their choosing.
Fields: Political Science; Economics; Geography; History
Subfields: International Relations; International Political Economy; Political Geography; Diplomatic History
Years Taught: Fall 2024
Methodology Courses in the Social Science
Introduction to Social Science
What is research? What is science? How do the disciplines of Anthropology, Economics, Geography, History, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology contribute to our understanding of human life? To answer these questions, students explore the process of scientific research and communication in the social sciences. Specifically, they learn to carry out a literature search, evaluate the relevance and reliability of varied information sources, summarize these sources using scientific conventions and communicate their ideas clearly, both orally and in written form. Throughout, students also learn about, and experience, the role of teamwork and feedback in the research process.
Fields: Social Sciences (General)
Subfields: Methodology
Years Taught: Fall 2023
Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences
The main objective of this course is to acquaint the students with the fundamental concepts and basic techniques of quantitative methods and with their uses in the Social Sciences. It should also help them understand and evaluate quantitative information presented in daily life (i.e. newspapers, polls, consumer reports, etc.) or in a Social Science setting (i.e. the results of scientific research). In the course, students will learn how information is quantified and how to read and evaluate numbers reported in the media and in texts and journals. Students will become more critical consumers of numerical or quantitative data.
Fields: Social Sciences (General)
Subfields: Methodology
Years Taught: Winter 2019; Winter 2020; Fall 2022
Introduction to Methodology (Research Design)
This course will examine the entire process of doing research in the social and human sciences. Students will see what is meant by the scientific method, the difficulties involved in doing research with humans, and ethical considerations that affect researchers' work. You will learn which research techniques are used in the different disciplines they are studying. You will use their knowledge of quantitative methods and research techniques to evaluate research reported in the media, texts, and journals, and you will create, implement, and report on a research project of their own.
Fields: Social Sciences (General)
Subfields: Methodology
Years Taught: Summer 2020; Summer 2021; Fall 2023;
Integration Seminar in the Social Sciences
As part of the Social Science program, you are required to undergo a 'final exam' to ensure that you have integrated the learning achieved during your completion of the program. This 'final exam' is called the Comprehensive Assessment. For this Comprehensive Assessment you are required to submit an academic paper, called the Integrated Interdisciplinary Paper. In order to ensure that every student is given adequate guidance while writing this paper, they are required to enroll in a writing and research seminar, entitled Integration Seminar in the Social Sciences. All assignments given in this seminar will work towards the final Integrated Interdisciplinary Paper. Please note that each student enrolled in the Social Science program is required to pass both the course (ISSS) and the paper (IIP) to earn their Diplôme d'Études Collégiales (DEC).
Fields: Social Sciences (General)
Subfields: Methodology
Years Taught: Winter 2018; Summer 2020; Summer 2021; Winter 2023; Fall 2023; Winter 2024
Complementary Courses in the Social Sciences (for non-Social Science students)
Politics and Society
Every generation debates many 'hot' issues. Politics is a fundamental process of resolving these debates; and, within democracies, the public plays a key role in this process. This Complementary course provides students with a better understanding of some current debates and how the public comes to understand them. The course will include a theoretical exploration of how our personalities, families/friends, experiences, the media, and politicians shape our views on society. The course will also include discussions of current issues, including: economic inequality, resettlement of refugees, prostitution, privacy vs. security in the digital age, free speech vs. hate speech, and the politics of pandemics.
Fields: Political Science
Subfields: Political Behavior; Canadian and Quebec Politics; Comparative Politics; International Relations
Years Taught: Fall 2020; Fall 2021; Winter 2022
I have had the amazing opportunity to teach several undergraduate courses in the Department of Political Science and in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Concordia University since Fall 2017. Here is a list of the courses I've taught and the most recent syllabi.
Department of Political Science
Introductory Courses
POLI 205
Introduction to International Relations
This course provides an introduction to the study of international relations (IR). Three of the fundamental questions in International Relations are: 1) why do states go to war, 2) what are the alternatives to war, and 3) how do states cooperate? In order to answer these questions, this course presents theories about the actions and interactions of individuals, institutions, and states. The course begins by presenting the most prominent theories and approaches in IR. Once students are familiar with these theories, we will examine some current issues in IR, including terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, ethnic conflict, and environmental security. Throughout the course, we will have lectures, readings, discussions, and simulations. This course prepares students for more advanced courses in international relations and provides students with the analytical skills required to understand current events in the world.
Fields: Political Science
Subfields: International Relations
Years Taught: Fall 2017; Fall 2018; Summer 2021; Summer 2022; Fall 2023
Intermediate Courses
POLI 301
Social Movements and Protest Politics
Social movements and political protests have played a prominent role in shaping society and politics today. Non-violent movements have toppled regimes. Violent movements have reshaped the security discourse of the world. Environmental, anti-globalization, identity-based, nationalist, populist, anti-colonial, and other movements have gradually (and sometimes suddenly) changed our identities, our notions of what is political, and what are acceptable strategies of political dissent. In this course, some of the issues we will examine will include: What are social movements? What is political protest? How can they bring about social and political changes? How are they organized and structured? What strategies do they employ and what strategies are used to counter them? What role does technology play in social movements?
Fields: Political Science; Sociology; Psychology
Subfields: International Relations; Comparative Politics
Years Taught: Summer 2022; Fall 2024
POLI 302
International Security
This course examines the causes of insecurity in the international system, including interstate war, intrastate war, terrorism, environmental change, and human insecurity; and the prospects for peace. The course begins with an examination of theories of interstate war. These theories are organized as system-level theories, dyadic theories, domestic-level theories, and individual level theories. We then examine theories of international security that move beyond interstate war. We will discuss feminist theories of security; civil wars and ethnic conflicts; terrorism; environmental security; and human security. Finally, we conclude the course by examining the impact of technology on international security. In particular, we will discuss the spread of nuclear weapons and the impact of new technologies on international security. The course is focused on developing the analytical skills required to understand and explain world events.
Fields: Political Science
Subfields: International Relations
Years Taught: Fall 2017
POLI 304
Theories of Foreign Policy Making
This course introduces students to the field of Foreign Policy Decision Making (FPDM). FPDM focuses on how states formulate foreign policies. We will look at the process of foreign policy making rather than foreign policy outcomes. Students will learn about the different factors influencing foreign policy decision making at different levels of analysis. After an introduction to foreign policy analysis and foreign policy decision making, students will learn about the role of international constraints, domestic institutions, domestic interest groups, public opinion, and individual leaders on foreign policy. While the majority of the course will focus on democracies, we will also compare decision making in democracies to decision making in non-democracies. While the course will have a heavy emphasis on theory, students will get the chance to apply their knowledge through in class case studies and discussions.
Fields: Political Science
Subfields: International Relations; Political Behaviour
Years Taught: Winter 2021
POLI 315
International Organizations
This course is an introduction to the topic of international organizations, which encompasses both formal international institutions—such as the UN—and informal international regimes—such as the gold standard. While international relations take place within an anarchic system, state and non-state actors are able to work together in numerous issue areas in hopes of achieving mutually beneficial outcomes. Therefore, the study of international organizations relies heavily on the study of international cooperation, in which states collaborate to manage interstate relations. We will discuss the key concepts and theories that address international organizations. We will examine the development, structure, and processes of security, economic, and human rights organizations. We will discuss organizations whose membership is limited to state actors, as well as those that include members of civil society. While students will be expected to understand the structures of these organizations, the main goal of the course is in understanding how they shape international relations.
Fields: Political Science
Subfields: International Relations
Years Taught: Summer 2018; Winter 2025
POLI 394
Globalization and Sustainable Development
This course is an introduction to the linkages between globalization, sustainable development, and global environmental politics. The course begins with a discussion of globalization, focusing on its defining characteristics, opportunities, and challenges. We then build on the development challenges posed by globalization to examine the politics of development and different approaches to development. One of these approaches, sustainable development, is the next topic in the course. We discuss the definition, measurement, and implementation of sustainable development. Finally, in order to understand the challenges in sustainable development, we turn to global environmental politics. After an introduction to the topic, we examine global governance of the environment, environmental social movements, public opinion on the environment, and the role of business in addressing environmental issues.
Fields: Political Science; Economics
Subfields: International Relations; International Political Economy
Years Taught: Fall 2022
Advanced Seminar Courses
POLI 400
Advanced Seminar in International Relations Theory
This course addresses central questions of international relations theory. More than the other political science disciplines, IR research is guided by paradigms. However, this course is not organized around them. Instead, we will embrace analytical eclecticism as we explore important questions and issues in IR. Questions will include: what was the 'true' historical development of the field? How is the international system organized? Why do actors do what they do? What role do domestic and international institutions play in international relations? What is the role of individuals in explaining outcomes? How does international bargaining take place? What explains intrastate conflict? Rather than going theory by theory, we will take honest looks at what realism, liberalism, constructivism, rationalism, critical theory, and non-paradigmatic theories have to say about these issues. We will also push beyond Anglo-American and masculine IR, to examine issues of race and gender in IR, as well as non-western theories of IR.
Fields: Political Science
Subfields: International Relations
Years Taught: Fall 2018; Fall 2019; Fall 2020; Fall 2021
POLI 408
Public Opinion and Public Policy
This research seminar is focused on the role of public opinion in shaping public policy. This course offers an overview of scholarly debates and research on public opinion, political communication, and public policy. Topics include: political reasoning with limited information; voter rationality and self-interest; framing and priming; partisanship; ideology; personality, values, and morality; emotions; voting and representation; polarization; and tolerance. We will use research drawn from Canada, the United States, and Europe to explore public opinion and public policy in Canada and Québec.
Fields: Political Science
Subfields: Canadian and Quebec Politics; Political Behaviour; Comparative Politics
Years Taught: Fall 2022
POLI 421
Transnational Politics
This seminar examines the activities of non-state actors, including NGOs, social movements, corporations, and individuals, and their roles in creating global society, building international institutions, and shaping foreign policy. While many theories have been proposed to address aspects of transnational politics, this course is not organized around them. Instead, we will embrace analytical eclecticism as we explore important actors and issues in the study of transnational politics. After an introduction to transnational politics and the spread of norms, we will explore the role of transnational actors, including international organizations (IGOs and NGOs), regional organizations, international civil society, multinational corporations, transnational terrorists, and transnational organized crime. We will also explore multiple transnational issues, including technology and civil society, environmental politics, corporate responsibility, private transnational regulation, and transnational violence.
Fields: Political Science
Subfields: International Relations
Years Taught: Fall 2019; Summer 2021; Winter 2024
POLI 468
Advanced Seminar in International Relations: International Orders in Turbulent Times
TBD
Fields: Political Science
Subfields: International Relations
Years Taught: Fall 2024
POLI 487
Advanced Seminar in Comparative Politics: Nationalism and Ethnic Identity
This seminar examines political identities, particularly national and ethnic identities, from a comparative perspective. Drawing on theories from political science, psychology, sociology, anthropology, and economics, we will examine the origins and nature of these identities, as well as their effects on politics. We will go in-depth on their effects on democracy, economic development, and conflict. Throughout the course, we will use examples from around the world to better understand the nature and role of political identities.
Fields: Political Science
Subfields: Comparative Politics; Political Behaviour; International Relations
Years Taught: Winter 2024
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Statistics Courses
SOCI 212
Statistics I
This course provides an introduction to the basic principles of statistics for social scientists. Topics include sampling and measurement; univariate statistics (data visualization, measures of location, and measures of variation); univariate distributions; and bivariate statistics (data visualization; correlation and regression; contingency tables; and controls). Students will learn the theory and calculation of these statistics. Students will also learn the implications of these statistical techniques for theoretical understanding of sociology and anthropology by applying these statistics in the lab to real-world data. To aid students gain the strongest possible understanding of statistics, the course will be a mixture of lectures to present theory and exercises to gain greater comfort using these techniques.
Fields: Sociology; Social Sciences (General)
Subfields: Methodology
Years Taught: Fall 2021; Fall 2023
SOCI 213
Statistics II
This course provides an introduction to the basic principles of inferential statistics for social scientists. Topics include: the normal and Student’s T distributions; correlation and regression; principles of hypothesis testing; t-tests; chi-square; and ANOVA. Students will learn the theory and calculation of these statistics. Students will also learn the implications of these statistical techniques for theoretical understanding of sociology and anthropology by applying these statistics in the lab to real-world data. To aid students gain the strongest possible understanding of statistics, the course will be a mixture of lectures to present theory and exercises to gain greater comfort using these techniques.
Fields: Sociology; Social Sciences (General)
Subfields: Methodology
Years Taught: Fall 2022; Winter 2024