Teaching
I teach political science by helping students move between abstract concepts and the political worlds they already inhabit. Across courses in comparative politics, international relations, and political theory, I ask students to use theory to interpret cases, evidence, current events, and lived experience. My goal is not only for students to understand political science but also to develop the confidence and analytical skills to question assumptions and construct arguments of their own.
I taught Ethnic Politics in Comparative Perspective and Introduction to Political Theory as instructor of record at the University of California, Riverside.
Connecting theory to political life
I design assignments that require students to use theory rather than simply summarize it. In Introduction to Political Theory, for example, students completed “contemporary resonance” papers placing canonical texts in conversation with news articles, podcasts, documentaries, or contemporary political controversies. One student connected Rousseau’s concept of the general will to debates over social media regulation. Others used political theory to analyze inequality, migration, civil disobedience, and democratic participation. As one student later put it, the course helped them “see political theory everywhere.”
Building a collaborative classroom
Students learn political science partly by testing ideas with one another. In Ethnic Politics, I used guided group activities and discussions to help students connect theories of identity, ethnicity, and coalition-building to cases and experiences familiar to them. These activities were carefully structured so that students were not expected to speak for an entire identity or community. Instead, they learned to compare perspectives, evaluate evidence, and make room for disagreement.
Combining structure, flexibility, and care
Students do not enter college with equal preparation, resources, or knowledge of institutional expectations. I therefore use clear instructions, transparent grading criteria, frequent communication, and structured opportunities for feedback. Flexibility does not mean lowering expectations. It means designing courses in which students understand what is expected, have more than one way to engage, and receive the support needed to meet those expectations.
Teaching Experience
Instructor of Record
Ethnic Politics in Comparative Perspective
Fall 2022 (UCR)
Introduction to Political Theory
Summer 2022 (UCR)
Teaching Assistant
Environmental Justice and Human Rights
Spring 2022 (UCR)
Latin American Politics
Winter 2022, Summer 2024, Summer 2025 (UCR)
World Politics
Fall 2021 (UCR)
Political Ideologies
Summer 2020 (UCR)
Politics of the Underdeveloped World
Winter 2019, Spring 2020, Summer 2021 (UCR)
Political Economy of International Migration
Fall 2019 (UCR)
Modern Political Theory
Summer 2019 (UCR)
International Migration
Spring 2018 (Özyeğin University)
Nations and Nationalism
Fall 2017 (Özyeğin University)
Introduction to Political Thought
Spring 2017 (Özyeğin University)
Research Methods I
Fall 2016 (Özyeğin University)
Gender and Politics
Summer 2016 (Özyeğin University)