I am currently an instructor at Arizona State University's School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership (SCETL), and have had the privilege of working at several universities, each with incredible faculty and students who have taught me more than I can convey. I was a Lecturer at University of Houston — Victoria (2021-2022), Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Dallas (2017-2020), Visiting Lecturer at Southern Methodist University (2018), Teaching Fellow at the University of North Texas (2012-2017), and Lead Editorial Assistant for the American Political Science Review (2015-2016).
My PhD in Political Science was earned from the University of North Texas in 2021. My dissertation analyzed Francis Bacon's New Atlantis with an eye to the religious, scientific, and political promises and reforms necessitated by the modern scientific enterprise. I have previously earned a MA in Political Science from Boston College (2010) and a BA in Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy (PTCD) from James Madison College, a residential public affairs school at Michigan State University (2008). The PTCD major was called Justice, Morality, and Constitutional Democracy until it was modified and renamed in 1991. As a consequence, I have some understanding of justice and morality, but a certification in neither – a lack which I quietly lament.
My teaching interests are broad, falling primarily in ancient and modern political philosophy, and American political institutions and behavior. My research currently focuses on early modern political philosophy as it intersects with religion, science & technology, and American political practice. Beyond my present focus, I have fairly broad academic interests and occasionally take refuge from the turmoil of the modern era in the turmoil of ancient Greek political thought. I fully intend (some day) to make some progress toward understanding the relationship between politics and comedy (particularly in the thought of Aristophanes), which is a long-neglected interest.