Brief Biography
I am a political theorist, whose teaching and research interests lie at the intersection of contemporary political theory, with an emphasis on phenomenology, and ancient Greek political thought. My most recent research projects center on an examination of the faculty of political judgment and its (mis)treatment in the history of political thought. Since receiving my Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 2007, I have held appointments at Southwestern University and Washington State University, Pullman, and Elon University, where I am currently an assistant professor.
Education
Ph.D. Department of Political Science, University of Minnesota, September 2007.
Dissertation Title: First-Things, First: Toward a Phenomenology of Political Theory. Nominated for Leo Strauss APSA prize for best dissertation in political theory.
B.A. New College of Florida, Political Science and Sociology, May 1998.
Employment History
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Elon University, 2012-present.
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Washington State University, 2008-2012.
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Southwestern University, 2007- 2008.
Visiting Instructor, Department of Political Science, Macalester College, 2005 and 2007.
Courses Taught
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Washington State University
Simulations in American Political Thought, Spring 2010 and Summer 2010
Introduction to Political Theory, Fall 2008 and Fall 2009, Summer 2010
Honors Political Science, Fall 2008
American Political Thought, Spring 2009
Foundations of Political Theory (Ph.D. course), Fall 2009 and Fall 2010
Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Southwestern University
Basic Concepts of Political Theory, Fall 2007 and Spring 2008
Heidegger, Aristotle and Action, Spring 2008
American Political Thought, Fall 2007
Visiting Instructor, Department of Political Science, Macalester College:
Politics, Thought, Evil: The Political Theory of Heidegger and Arendt, Spring 2007
Foundations of Political Theory, Fall 2005
Foundations of American Politics, Spring 2005
Instructor, Department of Political Science, University of Minnesota:
Democracy and Citizenship, Summer 2006
American Political Thought, Summer 2003 and Fall 2004
Power and Choice, Spring 2004
Political Ideas and Ideologies: An Introduction to Western Political Theory, Fall 2003
Current Projects
MANUSCRIPTS IN PROGRESS
“The Time of Judgment: Hannah Arendt on the Temporal Aspects of Political Judgment.”
“Rorty on the End(s) of Theory.”
“Seeing and Philosophizing in Plato: Ocularity and Intellectualism in Plato”
Presentations
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS
“The Time of Judgment,” Midwest Political Science Association Meeting, Chicago, IL April 2011
“Arendt’s Examination of Kant’s Third Critique,” Midwest Political Science Association Meeting, Chicago, IL April 2010
“The Misreading of Judgment: Kant, Arendt, and Conscience” American Political Science Association, Toronto, ON September 2009
“Both Thinking and Acting: Contributions of a Phenomenology of Political Judgment,” Midwest Political Science Association Meeting, Chicago, IL April 2009
“Both Thinking and Acting: Contributions of a Phenomenology of Political Judgment, Western Political Science Association Meeting, Vancouver, BC March 2009
“Between Plato and Politics: Aristotle's Phenomenological Insights Concerning Politics,” Midwest Political Science Association Annual Meeting, Chicago IL March 2008
Awards
Pi Sigma Alpha, Outstanding Professor of Political Science, Washington State University (2009, 2010, and 2011). Awarded by the student members of the Political Science Honors Society for teaching excellence in political science.
Christensen Book Award, Department of Political Science, University of Minnesota (2001) ($3,500). Funds for the development of a library for graduate student in early stages of Ph.D. program. (Award given by the department of political science for department’s top nominee in University-wide competition for the Stout-Wallace Fellowship).
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