Teaching

I aspire to help students cultivate the skills needed to understand the political world around them and themselves in that world.

PS401: Why We Fight: The Politics of Intergroup Conflict

Semester: Fall 2024

Why do we participate in intergroup conflict? How does conflict affect our attitudes and behaviors towards others? Can we reconcile and rebuild after intergroup conflict? Intergroup conflict has been a pervasive feature of human history and continues to shape the lives of millions of people around the world today. In this course, we will look at why we participate in intergroup conflict, the political, psychological, and social consequences of intergroup conflict, and how we might rebuild and reconcile in the aftermath of intergroup conflict—if at all. We will consider a broad range of cases representing every major region of the world and various forms of intergroup conflict. Additionally, this course is designed not only to deepen our understanding of the causes and consequences of intergroup conflict but also to facilitate individual and collective reflection on how we engage in and are affected by intergroup conflict in our daily lives, and how we might strive to resolve it constructively.