Teaching
Advanced Research Design (PhD)
The purpose of this class is to enable doctoral students from the School of International Service to develop and complete a well-written, well-designed, and methodologically sound research proposal. This research proposal will form the basis for students’ dissertation prospectuses as well as funding proposals that most doctoral students submit during their tenure at SIS.
Theories of Inquiry (Undergraduate Honors)
The many paths to creating knowledge begin with asking a good question and a willingness to take some risks. This process of producing and presenting knowledge is called inquiry. All inquiry begins with a problem, puzzle, or question and seeks to address, solve, or answer it in a way that is compelling for audiences. Different traditions of inquiry approach this process in different ways, fitting questions to methods according to different principles and structuring the process in order to achieve different outcomes. At the same time, traditions of inquiry are not entirely exclusive; they are, rather, engaged in an ongoing scholarly dialogue, and feature subtle overlaps and complementarities. In this course, AU Honors students navigate this complexity while formulating plans for their own research, creative, or professional activities. What they learn in this course feeds directly into their other classes, Honors colloquia, and capstone. The course helps students grapple with the difficulties of identifying a strong question to inaugurate a process of inquiry, how to refine the question in dialogue with different research traditions, and then how to identify and locate the right material and methods for answering the question.
Project Design, Monitoring, and Evaluation (MA)
This introductory course aims to help students understand how to monitor and evaluate development, humanitarian, or peacebuilding projects. The course will focus on enabling students to apply the concepts that they learn, including by critically assessing projects and identifying the most appropriate approach to monitoring and evaluation. Each student will choose one project to work with for the entirety of the class and, by the end of the class, produce a Monitoring and Evaluation Assessment and Design for that project
Unpacking Intervention in Civil War (MA)
Western scholars and policymakers often draw stark distinctions between peacekeeping, peacemaking, conflict prevention, peacebuilding, development, counter-insurgency, and humanitarian intervention. In conflict-affected countries, however, these distinctions are blurred, as single organizations, such as UN peace operations, simultaneously attempt to build peace, prevent violence, save lives, and create the foundations for sustainable development. This course will take an actor-centric perspective, focusing on the political, legal, and organizational causes of the behavior of international organizations, non-governmental organizations, states, and private contractors during civil war. After taking this course, students will be able to assess the behavior and potential effectiveness of key international interveners engaged in peacekeeping, conflict-sensitive development, peacebuilding, and humanitarian intervention.