Selected courses—email me for syllabi.

Jim Crow from Old to New

This course explores the relationship between Blacks and the criminal justice system. It begins by examining what I call “the incipient moments of racialization”—a series of colonial laws passed in the mid-seventeenth century that initially codified Blackness in the legal system—and proceeds throughout history to the present Black Lives Matter movement. This course has two goals. First, I draw on scholarly sources to teach students about the socio-historical circumstances that lead to and exacerbate racial inequality in the United States. Second, I humanize past and current movements for change by assigning autobiographies, novels, and documentaries that follow the lives of specific African Americans who have been victims of racial prejudice and subjected to the criminal justice system. To teach compassion, I engage in two exercises. First, I have students participate in a mock voter registration activity where they are asked to take a Louisiana literacy exam from the mid-20th century (every student fails). Second, I have students play a modified Monopoly game (created by Stout, Kretschmer, and Stout [2016]; see article for more information) in which half are randomly assigned to a subordinated racial group (e.g. collect less money at GO, restricted from certain property purchases, longer jail time, etc.). After the game, I hold a discussion where students draw parallels between their own experiences playing the game and the institutional barriers faced by minorities. Moreover, I always encourage my students to use what they learn in class to make a real-world impact. For the final project, students write policy memos based on current legislation designed to reform the criminal justice system. Many students ultimately submit their memos to local elected officials.

Introduction to Data Analysis

The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the basic concepts, principles, and practices of data analysis. You will be trained both in the mathematics underlying basic statistical analysis as well as how to deploy those methods to investigate real-world research questions. The course begins with basic instruction on research design and ends with in-depth instruction on ordinary least squares and logistic regression. You will be trained in the programming language R, and each week covers a different topic using Kosuke Imai’s Quantitative Social Science as our main text. I understand that many students are apprehensive about statistics and coding, so I devote class time to actively walk you through coding examples. I also use contemporary policy examples to keep the material engaging. Ideally, you will finish the course with a complete research project on a topic of your choosing, which many students in the past have used as writing samples for graduate school applications.

Careers in Political Science

This is a unique course designed to help undergraduates develop an accurate, real-world understanding of what it takes to get a job in politics, and what it is actually like to work those jobs. Over the next several weeks we will examine a few of the various career paths open to students with an undergraduate degree in Political Science, practice the interpersonal and analytical skills you’ll need to successfully start down any one of these paths, and generate the written materials you’ll need along the way. The major goal of this course is to provide students with first-hand accounts of the different paths political practitioners have taken to aid their success. To that end, most days will include guest speakers from various jobs related to politics. Speakers will include: elected officials, political consultants, campaign workers, political aides, political lawyers, foreign service officers, and many others.