Political Science & Philosophy
Biography
I’m an associate professor of political science at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise in Wise, Virginia where I teach most of our courses on international and comparative politics and the bulk of our classes in political philosophy and theory. I have a particular interest in the origins of war and regime change, political-economic development, Chinese politics, and non-Western political philosophy and theory.
I’m slowly but steadily working on a book on the subject of legitimacy and regime change in classical Chinese political thought (looking at the Shang, Zhou, Qin, and Han literature).
Education
BA (1998) Political Science, Art, and Geography - Emory & Henry College in Emory, Virginia
MA (2000) East Asian Studies - The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia
PhD (2007) Political Science - The University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee
Courses Regularly Taught
Comparative Politics
Politics of East Asia
Politics of Latin America
Politics of the Middle East
Politics of Northern Europe
Politics of Southern Europe
international Relations
International Politics
American Foreign Policy
Political Philosophy & Theory
Introductory and Advanced Ancient and Medieval Western Political Thought
Introductory and Advanced Modern Western Political Thought
Contemporary Political Thought
News
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Podcasts & Video Channels
The Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs
The Council on Foreign Affairs
The Council on Foreign Affairs The World Next Week
The Daily from The New York Times
The Economist Morning Briefing
Editor’s Picks from The Economist
Harvard Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies
The Intelligence from The Economist
International Studies Association
Ethics for Political Science
The American Political Science Association's 2012 A Guide to Professional Ethics in Political Science (2nd Edition)
Martha Ackelsberg, with Gayle Binion, Georgia Duerst-Lahti, Jane Junn, Laura Van Assendelft, and Bang-Soon Yoon's 2004 “Remembering the “Life” in Academic Life: Finding a Balance between Work and Personal Responsibilities in the Academy” in PS: Political Science & Politics
Aristotle's 350BCE Nicomachean Ethics, Book I (Parts 1 to 3)
Harry Collins & Trevor Pinch's 1993 The Golem: What Everyone Should Know About Science
Lee Ann Fuji's 2012 "Research Ethics 101: Dilemmas and Responsibilities"
Beryl A. Radin's 2012 John Gaus Lecture "Reclaiming Our Past: Linking Theory and Practice"
Bertrand Russell's 1940 "The Functions of a Teacher"
Andrew Stark's 2002 "Why Political Scientists Aren't Public Intellectuals" in PS: Political Science & Politics
Max Weber's 1919 "Politics as a Vocation"
Max Weber's 1918 "Science as a Vocation"
Methodology
The American Political Science Association's 2006 special issue of American Political Science Review on the "Evolution of Political Science"
Robert H. Bates' 1997 "Area studies and the discipline: A useful controversy?" in PS: Political Science and Politics
Andre Bennett, Aharo Barth, Kennet R. Rutherford's 2003 “Do We Preach What We Practice? A Survey of Methods in Political Science Journals and Curricula” in PS: Political Science & Politics
Harry Collins & Trevor Pinch's 1993 The Golem: What Everyone Should Know About Science
Arend Lijphart's 1971 "Comparative Politics and the Comparative Method" in The American Political Science Review
Rose McDermott's 2002 "Experimental Methods in Political Science" in The Annual Review of Political Science
Christopher Robert and Richard Zeckhauser's 2011 Harvard Kennedy School Faculty Research Working Paper on "The Methodology of Normative Policy Analysis"
Bertrand Russell's 1940 "Epistemological Premises"
Bertrand Russell's 1927 "Knowledge Behaviouristically Considered"
Bertrand Russell's 1917 "Knowledge by Acquaintance and Knowledge by Description"
Bertrand Russell's 1931 "The Limitations of Scientific Method"
Bertrand Russell's 1951 "Non-Demonstrative Inference"
Bertrand Russell's 1920 "Psychological and Physical Causal Laws"
Bertrand Russell's 1941 "Science and Values"
Bertrand Russell's 1926 "Theory of Knowledge"
Bertrand Russell's 1912 "Truth and Falsehood"
Benedict de Spinoza's 1662 On the Improvement of the Understanding
Style and Format
The American Political Science Association's 2006 Style Manual for Political Science
The American Psychological Association Style Manual
Data Sources
Center for International Development and Conflict Management - Projects
Center for Systemic Peace - Global Conflict Trends
Center for Systemic Peace - Integrated Network for Societal Conflict Research
Center for Systemic Peace - Major Episodes of Political Violence
Center for Systemic Peace - Polity Project
Central Intelligence Agency - World Factbook
Columbia International Affairs Online
Congress.gov (formerly THOMAS)
Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance - Publications and Databases
International Monetary Fund - Data and Statistics
National Archives and Records Administration
National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism - Data Sets
Peace Research Institute Oslo - Research
Political Instability Task Force (formerly the State Failure Task Force)
Social Science Data Collection - Database on Ideology, Money and Elections
United Nations Cartographic Section
United Nations Databases
United Nations Documents
United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library
World Bank Data
World Bank Research & Outlook
World Trade Organization - Documents and Resources
Professional Organizations
The American Political Science Association
Association for Politics and the Life Sciences
The International Political Science Association
The International Studies Association
Kentucky Political Science Association
National Conference of Black Political Scientists
North Carolina Political Science Association
Pi Gamma Mu International Honors Society in the Social Sciences
Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honors Society
Southern Political Science Association
Virginia Social Sciences Association
Employment for Political Science Majors
The American Political Science Association's "Careers in Political Science"
The University of Connecticut's "What Can I Do With My Political Science Degree?"