I’m a faculty member in and currently the chair of the Department of Political Science at UW-Madison. I work in the field of Political Theory. I came to UW in 2008, having spent the previous 8 years teaching at Union College in Schenectady, NY. I grew up on a small farm near Clinton, Missouri, went to college at (Southwest) Missouri State University and then went to graduate school at the University of Minnesota (and, yes, I was once a fierce Golden Gophers hockey fan!)
I’ve mostly written about the ancient Greeks (Thucydides and Aristophanes), but I’m driven more by theoretical interests in the possibilities and challenges of democracy than by a concern with any particular historical period. I teach all kinds of courses about the big questions and big ideas of political theory. And I’m increasingly interested in combining the exploration of those big questions and ideas with experiential learning. That’s one reason I’m so excited about UW Rebels and Revolutions in Ireland. We get to explore big questions of republicanism, freedom, independence and identity as we experience Dublin and Belfast.
Along similar lines, I’m at work on a new study away experience that will include time working on sand dune restoration projects in Puerto Rico as my students and I explore the idea of ecological restoration as a kind of civic engagement and think together about the complexities of citizenship.
Meanwhile, I’ve also been exploring the potential of online education, especially for the humanities and humanistic social sciences, both in my own courses and as a senior fellow in UW’s Education Innovation initiative.
Outside of work, I spend a lot of time with my family (my wife and I have four kids, aged 12-16) and my dogs (a goldendoodle named Murphy and a labradoodle named Sawyer).
When there’s time, I like hiking and camping. And I can almost always make time for a Milwaukee Brewers game.