Teaching philosophy and feminist pedagogy
Teaching fills me with joy. Each aspect of the teaching process, from curriculum design to facilitation and from mentoring students to giving feedback, is a site of power. This represents an opportunity for teachers to think about how to bring more critical curiosity and kindness into spaces of learning. Four feminist pedagogical commitments guide my teaching:
- First, I encourage curiosity about power.
- Second, I aim to practice and inspire reflexivity in the creation of knowledge -- both in terms of critically exploring who and what counts as sources and creators of knowledge, and in terms of reflecting on students' and teachers' own knowledge creation and disruption practices.
- Third, I endeavor to facilitate both critique and the reimagination of worlds, acknowledging that critique is not just about fault-finding, but about envisioning more just ways of living and relating into being.
- Fourth, I seek to teach about violence and injustice with an eye towards practices of joy and care, not just an analysis of harms.
My classes
Feminist Theories in Global Politics
University of St Andrews, 3rd year honours module (IR3079)
Reading list available upon request - please feel free to email through the contact form
This module engages with feminist theories to shed light on key pillars of global politics. Acknowledging that neither feminisms (note the plural) nor theories are monolithic, the readings and discussions will explore different perspectives within feminist movements across place and time. The approach invites students to consider the experiences of people of all genders, using a critical and intersectional framework to analyze the workings of power and meanings of politics. The module transcends a focus on individual identity to examine how a feminist lens sheds light on relationships, institutions, spaces, environments, and ideas. Equally, the emphasis on ‘theories’ does not imply a separation from ‘practice’ or ‘action’; rather, this module examines how theories spring from action and inform action, thus requiring us to question the theory-practice binary in favor of more fluid modes of thinking about knowledge and power.
This module does not focus exclusively on the body of work termed ‘feminist IR theory’ or on the themes of gender and violence. These are important areas of scholarship and it is my hope that students will explore them in their studies. However, it is equally my hope that a key takeaway of this module is that a feminist study of global politics does not imply an exclusive preoccupation with violence and its actors, manifestations, and effects. Feminist theories and the people who produce them also invite us to contemplate bodies that thrive, relations of care, and moments of joy. Drawing from interdisciplinary texts, the reading list and assessments reflect this tone.
The Politics of Nature and Place
University of St Andrews, 4th year honours module (IR4578) - winner of 'Early Career Excellence in Teaching International Studies' award at British International Studies Association (2023) and 'Golden Dandelion' award at the University of St Andrews (2022)
Reading list available upon request - please feel free to email through the contact form
This module invites us to engage with nature and place as crucial sites that shape our understanding and experience of world politics. It is not a module about climate change, sustainability, or ecology, though aspects of these will emerge in our discussions. Rather, the module considers a few key questions on the framing of nature and place in the scholarship and practice of politics: How have scholars considered the natural world in their analyses of violence, peace, and politics? How are nature and place represented and how do those representations inform our understanding of relationships of both care and extraction, our notion of community, and our experience of hierarchies? What role does the human play in these narratives? Ultimately, what do we talk about when we talk about ‘nature’ and what kind of politics is the politics of nature and place? Drawing from interdisciplinary texts that address both scholarly audiences and readers outside the academy, the reading list, activities and field trips, and assessments associated with this module invite students to not only think about politics, nature, and place, but also feel and experience these questions in their lives.
Critical Approaches to Peacebuilding
University of St Andrews, MLitt/MPhil in Peacebuilding and Mediation core (required) post-graduate module (IR5705)
Reading list available upon request - please feel free to email through the contact form
This module analyzes critical approaches to peacebuilding. Key questions include: What are the meanings of peace, and how might the study of peacebuilding differ from the study of violence? Who are the key actors involved in the process of making peace? What are the sites and settings of peacebuilding, and over what time horizons must we orient our attention towards them in order to fully understand experiences of peace? And how do different meanings and manifestations of power and politics inflect the texture of peace? Based on a range of interdisciplinary texts and multimedia, students will apply these questions to case studies that draw together insights from peacebuilding efforts in Angola, Colombia, DR Congo, El Salvador, Haiti, Liberia, Peru, Rwanda, the United States, and Vietnam, among others. The critical lenses the module examines include feminist and decolonial approaches to peacebuilding, which are woven throughout the readings and discussions. These approaches require expanding the frame beyond formal and official peace processes, as well as looking beyond the United Nations or the state (though these, of course, will be key actors in the story of peacebuilding). Discussions will focus on the efforts, dilemmas, and tensions within individuals and community groups advocating for peace over different time horizons. Collectively, the insights arising from this module highlight that critical thought is not merely developed in opposition—nor is it just an alternative—to what is considered the mainstream in the study of peace and conflict; instead, critical scholars and practitioners develop their own vision, meanings, and approaches for the study and making of peace.
University of St Andrews, 3rd year honours module (IR3079)
Reading list available upon request - please feel free to email through the contact form
This module engages with feminist theories to shed light on key pillars of global politics. Acknowledging that neither feminisms (note the plural) nor theories are monolithic, the readings and discussions will explore different perspectives within feminist movements across place and time. The approach invites students to consider the experiences of people of all genders, using a critical and intersectional framework to analyze the workings of power and meanings of politics. The module transcends a focus on individual identity to examine how a feminist lens sheds light on relationships, institutions, spaces, environments, and ideas. Equally, the emphasis on ‘theories’ does not imply a separation from ‘practice’ or ‘action’; rather, this module examines how theories spring from action and inform action, thus requiring us to question the theory-practice binary in favor of more fluid modes of thinking about knowledge and power.
This module does not focus exclusively on the body of work termed ‘feminist IR theory’ or on the themes of gender and violence. These are important areas of scholarship and it is my hope that students will explore them in their studies. However, it is equally my hope that a key takeaway of this module is that a feminist study of global politics does not imply an exclusive preoccupation with violence and its actors, manifestations, and effects. Feminist theories and the people who produce them also invite us to contemplate bodies that thrive, relations of care, and moments of joy. Drawing from interdisciplinary texts, the reading list and assessments reflect this tone.
The Politics of Nature and Place
University of St Andrews, 4th year honours module (IR4578) - winner of 'Early Career Excellence in Teaching International Studies' award at British International Studies Association (2023) and 'Golden Dandelion' award at the University of St Andrews (2022)
Reading list available upon request - please feel free to email through the contact form
This module invites us to engage with nature and place as crucial sites that shape our understanding and experience of world politics. It is not a module about climate change, sustainability, or ecology, though aspects of these will emerge in our discussions. Rather, the module considers a few key questions on the framing of nature and place in the scholarship and practice of politics: How have scholars considered the natural world in their analyses of violence, peace, and politics? How are nature and place represented and how do those representations inform our understanding of relationships of both care and extraction, our notion of community, and our experience of hierarchies? What role does the human play in these narratives? Ultimately, what do we talk about when we talk about ‘nature’ and what kind of politics is the politics of nature and place? Drawing from interdisciplinary texts that address both scholarly audiences and readers outside the academy, the reading list, activities and field trips, and assessments associated with this module invite students to not only think about politics, nature, and place, but also feel and experience these questions in their lives.
Critical Approaches to Peacebuilding
University of St Andrews, MLitt/MPhil in Peacebuilding and Mediation core (required) post-graduate module (IR5705)
Reading list available upon request - please feel free to email through the contact form
This module analyzes critical approaches to peacebuilding. Key questions include: What are the meanings of peace, and how might the study of peacebuilding differ from the study of violence? Who are the key actors involved in the process of making peace? What are the sites and settings of peacebuilding, and over what time horizons must we orient our attention towards them in order to fully understand experiences of peace? And how do different meanings and manifestations of power and politics inflect the texture of peace? Based on a range of interdisciplinary texts and multimedia, students will apply these questions to case studies that draw together insights from peacebuilding efforts in Angola, Colombia, DR Congo, El Salvador, Haiti, Liberia, Peru, Rwanda, the United States, and Vietnam, among others. The critical lenses the module examines include feminist and decolonial approaches to peacebuilding, which are woven throughout the readings and discussions. These approaches require expanding the frame beyond formal and official peace processes, as well as looking beyond the United Nations or the state (though these, of course, will be key actors in the story of peacebuilding). Discussions will focus on the efforts, dilemmas, and tensions within individuals and community groups advocating for peace over different time horizons. Collectively, the insights arising from this module highlight that critical thought is not merely developed in opposition—nor is it just an alternative—to what is considered the mainstream in the study of peace and conflict; instead, critical scholars and practitioners develop their own vision, meanings, and approaches for the study and making of peace.
Teaching interests and areas of student supervision
critical approaches to peace-building |feminist theory and praxis |political violence |critical transitional justice |feminist research methods |field research ethics and methods |critical humanitarianism |the politics of nature and place | taking love and care seriously in the study of war and peace