My Courses

Stevens Institute of Technology

Spring 2017. “Nature, Knowledge, Culture: The Nature of Big Data”

Fall 2017. “Computers and Society”

Bowdoin College

Spring 2017. “The Politics of Data”Events in American and international political and everyday life have demonstrated that keeping data private (or opening it up for access in the case of public officials) is an ever-growing concern. Topics include: how society deals with the balance of individual privacy and the need to keep the nation safe from terror attacks; safekeeping data from hacking when foreign governments use it as a weapon; government regulation challenges regarding self-driving cars, personal data, and new technology. Investigates the issues surrounding technology and data in modern American life from a political and legal perspective through a critical and writing-intensive approach. Syllabus

Fall 2016. “Forecasting and Predictions: The 2016 Election” Computers and the Internet have enabled an explosion in the prediction market where everyone from political consultants to large corporations rely on an ever-increasing amount of data to make predictions that drive their decision making. Examines the topic of predictions through the lens of how it is currently impacting our world. Students learn and apply predictive analytic techniques including traditional time-series analysis, elementary Bayesian statistics, and the design of cutting-edge models through data mining and machine learning. Applications and examples focus on the methods that data analysts use to forecast future events. Readings and discussions model how to assess the quality of those predictions and interrogate the ethics of using forecasts to shape strategy and policy that have real-world implications. Instructor selects thematic content and when pertinent, applies these techniques to the case study of presidential and congressional elections. Syllabus

Spring 2016. “Campaign Data in the 21st Century” Computational tools and data sources have revolutionized the way campaigns are run in the United States, and the 2016 election promises to continue this trend. Explores how political operatives and scholars alike can analyze these data sources to better understand modern campaigning. What can presidential candidate Twitter followers tell us about polarization? What does the text of candidate speeches tell us about their ideology, or how can a campaign use marketing data to target undecided voters? Students engage with and think critically about the promise and pitfalls of computational social science techniques. Syllabus

University of Massachusetts

Winter 2016. “Research Methods and Statistics for Political and Social Science” Online. Syllabus

Summer 2015. “American Politics Through Film” Online. Syllabus

Spring 2015. “Money, Politics, and Influence” Syllabus

Fall 2013, 2014. “Political Science Junior Year Writing” 

Spring 2013. “Introduction to Constitutional Law.” Syllabus