I am an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and Associate Professor of Political Science and, by courtesy, of Philosophy.

I have taught at Michigan since 2001. Previously, I taught at the University of Washington. I teach political theory. There is more in my CV.

My research areas are modern (i.e., seventeenth-century forward) and contemporary political theory, with a focus on eighteenth-century Continental liberal thinkers, especially Immanuel Kant, and liberal theory in general. I also have a research interest in the philosophy of social science. My general approach is analytic social theory: it combines the tools of analytic political philosophy (I was trained as a philosopher, not as a political scientist), textual interpretation, and attention to historical and sociological details. (more)

The courses I teach range from Introduction to Political Theory to advanced graduate seminars. My courses focus on modern and contemporary political theory and occasionally on the philosophy of social science. (more)

I got to participate in Michigan’s Sophomore Initiative in winter 2012 and teach a cool interdisciplinary course, 22 Ways of Thinking About the Games We Play.

Check out a teaching portfolio for a course from couple of years ago, featuring fabulous student work: videos, websites, and more.

And here are some great blogs by my students:

Introduction to Political Theory Blog (Fall 2009)

Life Examinations (Fall 2010 and Winter 2011)

The Game of Roles (Fall 2011)