Teaching
Although I see myself primarily as a writer and researcher, teaching has been a core part of my academic work. I see teaching and research as intrinsically linked. I feel particularly passionate about cross-cultural and cross-disciplinary forms of learning.
I have taught over 70 semester-long courses over the past 30 years, mostly at the University of Queensland but also at other institutions, including at Pusan National University, the University of Tampere and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. These ranged from large undergraduate classes to advanced honours seminars and master’s courses. Topics I have taught include Theories of International Relations, Introduction to Peace Studies, Ethics and Human Rights, The Politics of Nonviolence, Politics and Art, Visual Politics, Comparative Politics, and Research/Writing Strategies.
As twice Director of UQ’s Rotary Peace Centre I was centrally involved in developing our master’s Programs in Peace Studies and in International Relations. Perhaps the favourite part as working with master’s students from a great variety of disciplinary and cultural backgrounds.
Research and Writing Strategies
When I started teaching I noticed that my students often lacked the research and writing skills necessary to thrive in their studies. To address this I introduced a two-hour session into each of my courses. I usually run this 4-6 weeks into the course when we discussing the core research assignments of the course. Here is a video of one of these sessions.
Ph.D. Supervision
I love working with Ph.D. scholars and mentoring them. This is one of my favorite parts of being an academic. I invest a considerable amount of time each week into this. I often feel that I learn as much from my Ph.D. students as I – hopefully – am able to teach them. When possible, I try to find ways of integrating PH.D. scholars into collaborative research projects or/and activities we pursue in the Visual Politics Program.
Over the past decades I have supervised over two dozen PhD students as primary supervisor and many more as an associate or at the Masters and Honours level (you can find some of the topics here under Supervision). Some have gone on to careers in government or the private sector. Many have embarked on academic careers.
If you are interested in doing a Ph.D. please get in touch. Before you do so, look at the RHD Website of our School at UQ. Here you find details about how to prepare an expression of interest. Feel free to contact me informally before. Send me your CV, a writing sample and a short research proposal of no more than 10 to 20 pages. Outline what research puzzle/question you want to address in your Ph.D. project; why this question is innovative and significant; how it relates to existing bodies of literature; and how you plan to investigate your topic (your method). The above-video on Research and Writing Strategies provides more information on how to set up puzzle-driven research projects.
