PPPA Faculty

Katie Baird, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics

Areas of Expertise: Education policy, comparative social policy, economics of public policy, public finances and social policy

Courses taught: TECON 410 Economics and Public Policy; TECON 316 Current Topics in US Public Policy; TECON 420  Economics of Education; T PHIL 251  Data and Discourse

Angel Cabrera Silva
Assistant Professor of International Law and Human Rights

Areas of Expertise: Law and social movements; human rights; international law; activist-research; indigenous rights in Latin America

Courses taught: T LAW 215 Introduction to International Organizations; T LAW 363 Law in Society; T LAW 423 International Law; T LAW 424 The Politics and Law of International Human Rights

Jane Compson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Religious Studies

Areas of Expertise: Applied ethics, Buddhist thought, contemplative practices and pedagogy

Courses taught: TRELIG 321 Comparative Religion; TRELIG 350  Philosophy, Religion and the Environment; T PHIL 456 Environmental Ethics; T PHIL 544  Biomedical Ethics; TIAS 504  Values and Action

Michael Forman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Political Theory

Areas of Expertise: Political theory, human rights

Courses taught: T PHIL 355 Mind of Modernity; T PHIL 451 The Enlightenment; TPOL S 201 Introduction to Political Values and Ideas; TPOL S 230 International Human Rights; TPOL S 260 American Political Theory; TPOL S 310 Modern European Political Theory; TPOL S 312 19th Century Revolutions and Revolutionaries; TPOL S 453 Political Theory of Human Rights; TPOL S 480 Politics, Philosophy, & Public Affairs Seminar (Capstone)

Mary Hanneman, Ph.D.
Professor of East Asian History

Areas of Expertise: Japanese history, East Asian history, comparative nationalism, national identity

Courses taught: T HIST 251 The Global Twentieth Century; T HIST 270 Premodern East Asia; T HIST 271 Modern East Asia; T HIST 464 Modern China; T HIST 465 Modern Japan; T HIST 466 Modern Korea; T HIST 484 The Pacific War

Matthew Harvey, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Economics

Areas of Expertise: Policing, Crime, Racial Disparities in Economic Outcomes

Courses taught: TECON 200 Introduction to Microeconomics; TECON 350 Law and Economics; TECON 418  Urban Problems and Policies

Sana Khalil, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Economics

Areas of Expertise: Labor Economics, Gender and Development Economics, Applied Econometrics, Behavioral Economics, Environmental Resource Management

Courses taught: T PHIL 251 Data and Discourse; TECON 360 Poverty in Developing Countries; TECON 450 Labor Economics and Policy; TECON 480 Seminar in Economic Analysis

Anna Lovász, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Economics

Areas of Expertise: Labor economics, behavioral economics, gender inequalities, social policies, education

Courses taught: TECON 201 Introduction to Macroeconomics; TECON 430 Behavioral Economics; TECON 450 Labor Economics and Policy; T PHIL 251 Data and Discourse; T CORE 103 Introduction to Social Science; TECON 310 Research Seminar in Economics

Bidisha Mallik, Ph.D.
Assistant Teaching Professor in Philosophy

Areas of Expertise: Gandhian philosophy and Gandhian environmental movements, environmental philosophy/ethics, ethics and applied ethics, religion and ecology

Courses taught: T PHIL 101 Introduction to Philosophy; T PHIL 240 Introduction to Ethics; T PHIL 250 Practical Reasoning; T PHIL 361 Ethics in Society

Ben Meiches, Ph.D.
Associate Professor in Global Politics

Areas of Expertise: Global politics, armed conflict, genocide, international law

Courses taught: TPOL S 203 Introduction to International Relations; TPOL S 210 Debate; TPOL S 275 Political Rhetoric; TPOL S 319 Theories of Political Violence; TPOL S 360 Genocide; TPOL S 371 The Politics of Security; TPOL S 451 Human Rights and the Use of Force; T LAW 215 Introduction to International Organizations; T PHIL 466 Philosophy of the Future; T GH 490 Research Methods Seminar

Amos Nascimento, Ph.D.
Professor of Philosophy

Areas of Expertise: Discourse theory and discourse ethics, human rights and cosmopolitanism, applied ethics, environmental philosophy

Courses taught: T PHIL 101 Introduction to Philosophy; T PHIL 200 Introduction to the Philosophy of Human Rights; T PHIL 358 History of Philosophy; T PHIL 360 History of Philosophy: Modern and Contemporary; T PHIL 456 Environmental Ethics; TPOL S 480  Politics, Philosophy, & Public Affairs Capstone Seminar

Ilā Ravichandran, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Legal Studies

Areas of Expertise: Law, Science & Technology; Policing, Militarism & Surveillance; Race & Empire; Biopolitics; Feminist Theory; Critical Race Theory; Queer of Color Theory 

Courses taught: T LAW 363 Law in Society; T LAW 452 Race, Ethnicity, and Law; T LAW 465 Law & Public Policy in the United States

Libi (Elizabeth) Sundermann, Ph.D.
Teaching Professor of History

Areas of Expertise: Modern European History; Modern British History; World History

Courses taught: T HIST 101 Introduction to History Methods; T HIST 150 World History I; T HIST 151 World History II; T HIST 203 Modern Europe and the World; T HIST 260 Empires and Imperialism in World History; T HIST 290 A World History of Food; T HIST 375 British Empire; T HIST 380 History Methods; T HIST 475 Twentieth Century Britain; T HIST 498 History Capstone

Emily Thuma, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Politics and Law
Haley Associate Professor of Humanities

Areas of Expertise: Socio-legal history; feminist and queer politics; prisons and policing; social movements; intersections of race, gender, and violence

Courses taught: T AMST 260 Introduction to Queer Studies; T LAW 348 Gender and Law; T LAW 363 Law in Society; T LAW 452 Race, Ethnicity, and Law; TPOL S 355 Reproductive Politics, Law, and Justice; TPOL S 480 Politics, Philosophy, & Public Affairs Capstone Seminar

Etga Ugur, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Comparative Politics

Areas of Expertise: Religion and politics in the Middle East, Islamic movements, religion and civil society, comparative politics

Courses taught: TPOL S 204 Introduction to Comparative Politics; TPOL S 321  American Foreign Policy; TPOL S 340 Middle East Politics; TPOL S 341  Conflict and Cooperation in the Middle East; TPOL S 350  Politics and Film in the Middle East; TPOL S 480  Politics, Philosophy, & Public Affairs Seminar (Capstone)

Charles Williams, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Politics & PPPA Division Chair

Areas of Expertise: U.S. labor history and politics, alternative economic development

Courses taught: TPOL S 202 Introduction to American Politics; TPOL S 260  American Political Theory; TPOL S 343 Community and Labor Organizing: A Multicultural Perspective; TPOL S 400  The American Presidency; TPOL S 480  Politics, Philosophy, & Public Affairs Seminar (Capstone)

Rob Crawford, Ph.D.

Emeritus Professor of Cultural Studies

Health, human rights

David Morris, Ph.D.

Emeritus Professor of American Literature