Teaching
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Methods
Geographic Information Systems for Political Science
Course number(s): Political Science 385.001 (Michigan).
Format: Undergraduate lecture/seminar/lab (25 students).
Offered: Fall 2019, 2020.
Syllabus: Download PDF
Course description
This course introduces Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and their applications to political science and international relations. The course objectives are to enable enables students to work with GIS data structures and understand cartography, transformations, georeferencing, geocoding, and spatial analysis. I provide students with hands-on experience in using GIS software to visualize and analyze data. Applications include data on elections, armed conflict, crime, public infrastructure, and economic activity. The course meets once a week for three hours. This time is split between a lecture and a lab exercise, where students use GIS software to complete assignments.Empirical Models of Conflict
Course number(s): Political Science 688.006 (Michigan)
Format: Graduate lecture/seminar (15 students).
Offered: Winter 2015, Fall 2016, Winter 2019.
Syllabus: Download PDF
Course description
This course examines statistical issues relevant to the empirical study of war and peace. Substantively, we study international and civil conflict (e.g., war initiation, war termination, alliances, use of force, tactical choices). Methodologically, we address causal inference; dyadic, geographic, network, and temporal interdependence; text analysis; prediction; and simulation. We focus on the assumptions and appropriateness of various models, as well as the proper interpretation of results. The course empowers students with the tools to critically evaluate quantitative IR work, and to design empirical research projects of their own.Basics of Geographic Analysis in R
Course number(s): Government 2525 (Harvard)
Format: Graduate seminar/lab (15-25 students).
Offered: Spring 2013.
Slides: Download PDF 1 | Download PDF 2 | Download PDF 3
Code + Data: Download zip
Guide to map projections: Download PDF
Course description
This workshop on spatial data analysis was prepared for Ryan Enos' GOV 2525 "Political Geography" course at Harvard University. The workshop is designed as a crash-course in key concepts and methods, with an emphasis on implementation and applications of spatial analysis for social science research. It covers basic data management and visualization, spatial autocorrelation, spatial weights, and spatial regression. Each section is followed by an exercise in R, in which participants will implement the techniques and models discussed in the slides.Applied Spatial Statistics in R
Course number(s): N/A (Harvard IQSS)
Format: Graduate seminar/lab (15-25 students).
Offered: Winter 2010.
Slides: Download PDF
Code + Data: Download zip
Guide to map projections: Download PDF
Course description
This workshop on spatial data analysis was held at the Institute for Quantitative Social Science on 20 January 2010. The workshop was designed as a crash-course in key concepts and methods, with an emphasis on implementation and applications of spatial analysis for social science research. It covers basic data management and visualization, spatial autocorrelation, spatial weights, point pattern analysis, geostatistics, and spatial regression. Each section is followed by an exercise in R, in which participants implement the techniques and models discussed in the slides.International Security
Modern Warfare
Course number(s): Political Science 368.001 [389.020, 389.030] (Michigan).
Format: Undergraduate lecture (100-150 students).
Offered: Fall 2014-2016, 2018-2020, Winter 2023.
Syllabus: Download PDF
Course description
This course offers an introduction to the study of war in the modern world. I organize the lectures and readings into three modules: why wars begin, how wars are fought, and how wars end. In the first module, we cover major theories of war from international relations, and use them to explain the outbreak of a number of major international and civil conflicts. In the second module, we examine why some states are better at fighting wars than others, and explore the basics of military strategy in land, air, and naval warfare, as well as counterinsurgency. In the third module, we study conflict resolution, particularly the role of military intervention, peacekeeping, and negotiation. The course entails two 80-minute lectures per week, and one 50-minute discussion section. The sections emphasize activity-based learning through participation in interactive debates and simulations.Proseminar on World Politics: International Conflict and Security
Course number(s): Political Science 661.001 (Michigan).
Format: Graduate seminar (15-20 students).
Offered: Fall 2019, 2020, Winter 2023.
Syllabus: Download PDF
Course description
This course examines the politics of international conflict and security, focusing on theories of interstate and civil war, terrorism, nuclear strategy, and military effectiveness. This is the first course of four in the World Politics proseminar sequence. The others are: International Political Economy, International Institutions, and the State. The goal of this course is to introduce first-year political science graduate students to the subfield of international relations, and provide an overview of foundational and contemporary research.Security Studies Seminar
Course number(s): Political Science 688.004 (Michigan).
Format: Graduate seminar (15 students).
Offered: Fall 2015, Fall 2018.
Syllabus: Download PDF
Course description
This course provides an overview of prominent theories and debates in security studies, their applications to contemporary issues in defense policy and strategy, and their study in political science and other disciplines. The class emphasizes theoretical debates in the study of war, but we also discuss empirical research on conflict. Topics include classical and modern strategy, land warfare and combined arms, air power and coercion, nuclear weapons and deterrence, logistics and communications, insurgency and counterinsurgency, terrorism, and intelligence.Russia
Political Economy of Russia and Eurasia
Course number(s): Political Science 498.002 (Michigan).
Format: Undergraduate seminar (15 students).
Offered: Fall 2014.
Syllabus: Download PDF