Teaching and Administration

Teaching

I currently teach the following courses: American Democracy and Citizenship (PLS 101), Politics of Less-Developed Countries (PLS 338), Latin American Politics (548/648) and International Political Economy (PLS 721). PLS 101 and 338 are undergraduate courses, 721 is a graduate course and 548/648 is a mixed course. All of my courses involve some combination of lectures, discussion, films, simulations and other activities, but my lower-level undergraduate courses are mainly lecture-driven while my upper-level and graduate courses are more discussion-based. PLS 721 is almost entirely discussion-based. Prospective students should feel free to contact me if they would like additional information.

Administration

I am the director of the Master of International Affairs (MIA) program at Missouri State University. The MIA consists mainly of a combination of international relations and comparative politics courses. However, we also require a statistical methods course and offer electives in other fields, including public administration, homeland security and business administration. With regard to faculty resources, our strengths lie in the developing world. We have two specialists on Latin America and one each on sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia and the Middle East. Our graduates have landed positions in US and foreign government agencies, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. Some have also gone on to doctoral studies in political science and other disciplines. For more information on the MIA, contact me or visit the program’s website.