Teaching

I teach a variety of courses in comparative politics, from introductory surveys of the field to upper-level courses on dictatorships, democratic backsliding and political institutions, the resource curse, the politics of development, and African politics. I also regularly teach undergraduate research methods and data analysis, and developed a collaborative service-learning project with Oakland County Parks and Recreation in one of these courses. Read an article about the Oakland County Parks project (PDF).

In the Fall of 2024, I led one of Oakland University’s inaugural Diplomacy Lab teams of student researchers, where we focused on the resurgence of military coups in West Africa. Read an article about the Diplomacy Lab experience (PDF).

I am a strong proponent of undergraduate research and have mentored dozens of students in independent research projects that have been presented at local and national conferences. I have also co-authored several papers with undergraduate students, and mentored independent undergraduate research projects to the publication stage. For example, see former student Mallory Waligora’s published paper at the Pi Sigma Alpha Undergraduate Journal of Politics (Spring 2026) (PDF).

Since 2017, I have organized and facilitated the Undergraduate Political Science Research Symposium, which provides opportunities for students to present poster versions of their research. See photos and more information about the research symposiums.

Courses Taught

  • Comparative Politics
  • Modern Dictatorships
  • Data Analysis in Political Science, including an original service learning course in collaboration with the Oakland County Parks and Recreation Department
  • Senior Capstone in Comparative Politics: “Making American Democracy Work (Better): Lessons from Comparative Politics”
  • Senior Capstone in Comparative Politics: “Blood Diamonds and Petro-Politics: The Resource Curse in Comparative Perspective”
  • Honors College 2070: Is Democracy Dying?
  • Honors College 206: “Bad Guys, Tyrants, and Emperors: Dictators and the Societies they Govern”
  • The Politics of Development
  • African Politics
  • Introduction to Africa (International Studies Program)