Teaching Interests and Goals
My teaching and research engage the history of political thought to reflect on timely questions about the interaction between economics and politics, liberalism, and moral judgment. Each theme relates to my central concern as a scholar: understanding the proper relationship between the individual and society. I see political economy and political theory as intimately related. I have a passion for these disciplines because they encourage students to think about the goals of human beings living in society together, the essential values of politics, and how ideas about the individual’s relationship and responsibility to society have changed over time and are reflected or transformed in our political lives today. I strive to teach students to think for themselves and clearly articulate those ideas to others in their speaking and writing so that they can use these skills in any profession they choose.
My main goal as a teacher is to help my students learn to think critically. I define critical thinking as encompassing four main points: 1) thinking broadly across a variety of subjects and world-views, 2) independently evaluating arguments, 3) developing the imagination, and 4) applying conclusions to practical problems
Teaching Experience
Assistant Professor, Michigan State University
Politics and Markets (Fall 2019; Fall 2020; Fall 2021)
Radical Challenges to Liberal Democracy (Fall 2019; Fall 2020)
Constitutionalism and Democracy (Spring 2021)
Introduction to Public Affairs (Fall 2021)
Adam Smith’s Challenge: Self-Interest or the Common Good? (Spring 2021)
Assistant Professor, Ashland University
Adam Smith, the Self, and Society (Fall 2018)
Foundations of Political Economy (Fall 2017; Fall 2018)
Political Economy of a Free Society (Spring 2018)
20th Century Political Economy: The Welfare State and Beyond (Spring 2019)
Introduction to Western Civilization I: Ancient Greece to Renaissance (Fall 2017; Fall 2018)
Introduction to Western Civilization II: Renaissance to WWII (Spring 2018; Spring 2019)
Visiting Instructor, Marquette University
Justice and Power: Introduction to Political Philosophy (Spring 2017)
Guest Lecturer, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Economic Inequality in Modern Political Thought (Spring 2017) “Adam Smith on the Poor Law”
Teaching Assistant, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Democratic Ideas (Spring 2017)
Western Culture: Political, Economic & Social Thought I (Fall 2014) Guest Lectures: “Augustine and the Problem of Amor-Sui for Political Life”; “All you Need is Love:Augustine and Aquinas on Christian Virtue”; “Introduction to the Course: Three Kinds of Virtue”
Western Culture: Political, Economic & Social Thought II (Spring 2014) Guest Lecture: “Liberty is not License, Rights Mean Responsibilities: Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France”
The First Amendment (Fall 2013)
My teaching statement, a summary of my teaching evaluations, and sample syllabi are available upon request.