Teaching

Graduate Courses

I regularly teach our department’s graduate courses in quantitative and advanced quantitative methods. I design these classes as project-based seminars that invite students to try out different analytic techniques, apply them to a research question, and develop projects that pilot test theories they may ultimately develop into publishable work. Students have done this - examples here, here, and here!

I have also developed and taught a graduate elective seminar in political sociology, and I regularly supervise area comprehensive exams in religion, politics, and culture.

Undergraduate Courses

The Science of Relationships (Introduction to Sociology)

Sociology is the science of relationships between people and groups. We live through all kinds of relationships: neighbors, nations, friends, family, bosses, enemies, and strangers on the train. Sociology studies these relationships by focusing on everything from small interpersonal interactions to big institutions like schools and governments. My goal is to introduce students to the field and give them a set of tools to better understand relationships in their personal and professional lives.

Doing Good Work (Research Methods)

Social Statistics

Politics in the Digital Age

From fake news to Facebook feuds, politics can seem like a big mess. In this course, we work to make sense of it. We cover classic and current work in political sociology that speaks to the big questions of the day, like how think tanks and lobbying work, how social movements happen, and whether people are becoming more polarized online. We focus on what sociology contributes to the study of political life and how the social sciences can inform and improve public policy.