US Naval Academy

Courses taught:
Fall 2019 – Spring 2020, FP341: Political Psychology
Political psychology is the study of how the human brain impacts our behavior within political systems. Within political psychology, this course focuses on three broad themes: 1) Biopsychology and Embodiment. How do our genetics, physiology, and experience of living within a body determine our political beliefs and actions?
2) Personality and Values. How do our basic personality traits, our moral values, and our prejudices affect our political behavior?
3) Heuristics and Motivated Reasoning. How do people think about politics and reach
political decisions?
Syllabus

Fall 2018 – Spring 2020, FP130: US Government and Constitutional Development
All members of the United States civil or uniformed services take an oath in which we swear to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States… and bear true faith and allegiance to the same.” It is therefore critical that we understand the foundations, structure, and intricacies of the document and the government to which we commit ourselves.
Syllabus

University of Minnesota

Courses taught:
Fall 2016, POL 3769: Public Opinion and Voting Behavior
Public opinion is one of the most important things in a democracy – or at least that’s what we’re told. In this course, we will learn more about what public opinion is, how it varies between individuals and groups, and how public opinion is followed (or manipulated) by elites. Using examples from the 2012 and 2016 Presidential elections, students will learn major theories of public opinion and voting behavior in political science, and how to apply them to real world events.
Syllabus

Summer 2016, POL 3766: Political Psychology of Mass Behavior
Why do people hold such different political views? How do people change their attitudes in response to current events? In general, how do people understand, discuss, and shape politics? This class will introduce you to the interdisciplinary field of political psychology. Through political psychology, we will begin answering these and other questions about how people interact with politics.
Syllabus

Teaching Assistantships:
Spring 2017, POL 3323: Political Tolerance in the United States (Dr. Howard Lavine)
Spring 2016, POL 3085: Quantitative Analysis in Political Science (Dr. Joanne Miller)
Fall 2015, POL 3767: Political Psychology of Elite Decision Making (Dr. C. Daniel Myers)