Teaching
University of Oklahoma
Racial, Ethnic, and Class Inequality and Political Behavior (Spring 2022)
This graduate seminar surveys research problems in the study of inequality and American political behavior through the lenses of race, ethnicity, and class. In this course, students will critically evaluate a combination of seminal research in the field and cutting-edge work conducted recently that responds to empirical and theoretical gaps left behind by the classics. Students will use the literature, as well as their own novel research ideas, to answer questions that fundamentally shape how we think about American inequality. These questions include, but are not limited to: How do social identities including race, ethnicity, and class structure our political preferences? What role do self-interest and group interest play in voting? Why hasn’t American democracy slowed rising inequality? How does racial and economic inequality affect political participation, preferences, attitudes, and vote choice? The seminar is intended for political science Ph.D. students and advanced undergraudate students but may be relevant for students in other disciplines as well.
Capstone in Political Science (Fall 2020, Spring 2022)
The Oklahoma City Exit Poll (Fall 2020, Fall 2022)
This course will train students as researchers to design and field a national poll about the 2022 midterm election. It will also engage on topics such as how to conduct community-engaged research at the local level and provide instruction on how to design and perform a social science experiment. After learning how to conduct research and collect original data, students will learn how to analyze and present these data for a mainstream audience.
PSC 2013. Introduction to Political Analysis (Spring 2021, Fall 2021)
Scientific method and the variety of approaches to a science of politics; problems of research design; methods and techniques of systematic political inquiry.
Washington University in St. Louis
Growing Up Poor Across America (Spring 2018, Fall 2018)
Advanced seminar on poverty in America, with a special focus on exploring relevant data. The American Dream is built around the idea that anyone, regardless of his or her origins, can have a fair start in life. Yet recent research shows that the promise of the American Dream is uneven across the nation. Poor children growing up in San Jose, CA are three times more likely to escape poverty than those in Charlotte, NC. What might be driving these geographic differences in opportunities for low-income youth? We will investigate factors that might drive these differences by working with interesting data. We will explore cutting-edge research on poverty and mobility in America to develop our own research questions. We will also develop the computational and statistical skills to put our ideas into practice by learning to manipulate data and make graphs that communicate our findings effectively.
Statistics for Sociology (Fall 2019)
Introduction to descriptive and inferential statistical techniques used in sociological research. Topics addressed include probability distributions, data presentation and visualization, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, and linear regression. Applications of statistical analysis drawn from sociological research and other social science data sources, such as polling and economic data. Students will use statistical software R to complete assignments.