COURSES TAUGHT

Radical Political Ideas (third-year undergraduate course, School of Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds): This course explores some of the radical ideas about politics, with a focus on resistance. It employs the lens of critical political theory broadly construed to explore the main ambiguities involved in resisting oppression – both historically and as they pertain to current political issues. We will examine the question of the justifiability of violence in the service of freedom and justice, point to the main critiques of violence as a viable resistance strategy, scrutinize the difficulty of founding political freedom in the wake of liberation from oppressive rule, and delve into the complexities of forming solidarity across difference.

Revolution and Reaction: Political Problems in the 20th Century (second-year undergraduate course, School of Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds): The dramatic events of the Twentieth century were matched by equal turmoil in the world of ideas. This module explores some of the seminal thinkers of this period and situates them in the context of the problems and challenges that they were attempting to resolve—in both radical and reactionary ways. It also sheds light on how these thinkers – by grappling with key concepts such as power, class, culture, gender and race – sought to contest many of the prevailing orthodoxies of politics and political theory.

Justice, Community and Conflict (second-year undergraduate course, School of Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds): Modern democratic societies are marked by a deep diversity of cultures, beliefs and moral values; and this poses a fundamental political challenge: how are we to live well together when we cannot agree how people ought to live their lives? That question forms the core of this course, which explores a range of key concepts and issues in contemporary political theory such as justice, community, conflict, belonging, hate speech, pornography and the morality of political protest.

Freedom, Power and Resistance: An Introduction to Political Ideas (first-year undergraduate course, School of Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds): This course provides students with a critical introduction to Western political thought. It focuses on the work of five influential thinkers, investigating the historical context in which they wrote, the ideas and theories they developed, and the potential application of their thought to pressing political questions in the modern world.

Modern Revolutionary Tradition: Hopes, Disappointments and Unfulfilled Promises (Masters course, Department of Political Science, University of Vienna): Have modern revolutionary aspirations reached an impasse? The course interrogates the hopes, disappointments and unfulfilled promises engendered by past revolutionary projects, and scrutinises what, if any, role the concept of revolution can still play in our contemporary political imagination. It is interdisciplinary in scope, combining philosophical texts with relevant examples from literature. 

Ambiguities of Resistance (third-year undergraduate course, Department of Political Science, University of Vienna): This course employs the lens of critical political theory broadly construed to explore the main ambiguities and complexities involved in resisting oppression – both historically and as they pertain to current political issues. It asks the students to critically engage with a range of canonical thinkers coming from Marxist, postcolonial, existential and anarchist perspectives, as well as contemporary feminist, critical race and democratic theorists, and reflect on how their ideas speak to practical examples of resistance from our past and present. 

Political Thinkers (first-year undergraduate course, with classes of more than 450 students, Politics and International Relations, University of Edinburgh): The course introduces students to the main methodological approaches and arguments made by some of the most influential thinkers of the past, from a wide range of perspectives, whose thinking continues to inform current thought and practice in politics and in international relations. I have worked closely with colleagues to diversify the curriculum, enriching the core topics with existential, feminist and postcolonial perspectives.

Critical Theory and Cinema (third-year undergraduate course, Politics and International Relations, University of Edinburgh): The course involves film screenings to connect political theory to pressing social and political issues, such as capitalist exploitation, colonialism and anti-colonial resistance, gender oppression and the role of critical theorising itself. It develops the use of cinema as an innovative tool of teaching and learning in political theory and political science, with an emphasis on stimulating the affective and experiential dimensions of the learning process.

Research Design in Politics and International Relations (third-year undergraduate course, Politics and International Relations, University of Edinburgh): The aim of the course is to equip students with skills necessary to understand, critically assess and undertake the research design process. It explores current approaches to social science research, showing how Politics and IR has evolved as a discipline, and the contemporary debates about social and political research. My role included supporting students in developing their own research project and preparing them for writing their dissertations.

Introduction to International Relations and Issues in International Relations (first- and second-year undergraduate course, School of International Relations, University of St Andrews): Both courses explored how different international political thinkers/theories can be engaged to relate to contemporary concerns in world affairs. Small tutorial groups allowed me to develop my participatory teaching strategies. I have sought to enhance students’ interest by organising group discussions, debate contests, collaborative close readings of texts and small exercises in argument-building.