Courses Taught
ENV 102: "Introduction to Environmental Policy" (Chapman University)
FFC-100D-16: "Political Responses to Climate-related Disasters." (Chapman University)
ESM 228: "Monitoring and Evaluation" (UCSB)
POLS 177: "Comparative Environmental Politics" (UCSB)
POLS 176: "Energy Politics and Policy" (UCSB)
- Environmental problems, from air pollution to deforestation to climate change, are increasingly complex and pose a significant threat human well-being around the world. Yet solving environmental problems remain contentious, and – potentially as a result – there is significant global variation in the policies meant to address environmental problems. This is especially true in the United States, where a myriad of environmental policies and environmental policy conflicts exist at the local, state, and federal levels. This course draws on research from a variety of disciplines in the social sciences to answer the following questions: (1) What policies exist to address environmental problems in the United States, and what are the historical and philosophical origins of those policies, and (2) How do political forces enable and constrain meaningful action to address environmental problems, both in the United States and abroad?
FFC-100D-16: "Political Responses to Climate-related Disasters." (Chapman University)
- Climate change continues to increase the frequency and intensity of natural disasters like droughts and hurricanes. Discussions regarding the consequences of climate-related disasters are both wide-reaching and urgent, given that climate change threatens the well-being of over three billion people worldwide. This course explores the political ramifications of climate-related disasters, with a particular focus on how race and other identities shape the distribution of their harms. Case studies of recent climate-related disasters from within and beyond the United States will ground our discussions.
ESM 228: "Monitoring and Evaluation" (UCSB)
- This graduate-level course surveys the research methods increasingly used to evaluate the impacts of non-profit organizations and public agencies, including randomized controlled trials. Students also will be introduced to various measurement strategies commonly used during field-based research, such as surveys and key informant interviews. Throughout the course, small teams of students will collaborate to develop a monitoring and evaluation protocol on the substantive topic of their choice.
POLS 177: "Comparative Environmental Politics" (UCSB)
- This undergraduate-level course combines cutting-edge research from political science and environmental studies to address questions like: "What explains why some countries more frequently address environmental threats while others do not?" and "Why are global environmental threats like climate change so politically contentious?" Topics include: the logic of collective action, (critical) environmental justice, and the "resource curse."
- Syllabus
- Evaluations (from faculty assessment)
POLS 176: "Energy Politics and Policy" (UCSB)
- This undergraduate-level course introduces students to the technical and regulatory aspects of energy systems. Special attention is paid to the politics of renewable energy transitions. Upon completion of this course, students should feel comfortable both describing the basic technical characteristics of global energy systems and analyzing the politics of energy across various countries in the Global North and the Global South.
Upcoming Courses
ENV 201: "Introduction to Environmental Justice" (Chapman University, w/Richelle Tanner)
- Why do some communities bear the brunt of environmental problems like pollution and climate change while others do not? This course helps students answer this question via an introduction to the theories, evolutions, and applications of environmental justice scholarship and activism. In doing so, it emphasizes how identities such as race and class often intersect to explain the unequal distribution of environmental harms over space and time. The course also highlights how theories and applications of environmental science contribute to the reproduction of environmental inequality. Students will analyze examples of environmental injustice in four different learning modules, which focus specifically on race, class, gender, and North-South relations. Each module also introduces students to the various methodologies used in environmental justice research, such as the statistical analysis of spatial data and participatory (community-based) research.