Graduate Teaching Assistant - University College London (UCL)

• POLS0060 Science, Scientific Discovery and Statistics with Dr Indraneel Sircar: in the age of information overload, big data, social media and contestation over ‘fake news’ based on ‘evidence’ and ‘facts’, it is more important than ever to equip students of politics with the necessary skills to read, interpret and critically assess conclusions, political claims and government findings based on strong methodological foundations. “Science, Scientific Discovery and Statistics “ aims to turn students into competent producers, and critical consumers of ‘facts’ or scientifically based information. We will review the process by which facts are developed using a ‘scientific method’, which will include ontology (what is reality epistemology (nature, sources and justification of reality or facts), methodology (how do we prove/disprove claims about reality) and methods (what methods are available to social scientists). The second part of this course will give particular attention to quantitative methods providing students with a gentle introduction to correlation and causation in social sciences. The main aim is to turn students into data aware consumers with some basic statistical skills, before moving to more detailed methodological training in year 2 methods course.

Assistant Lecturer - University of Essex

• GV211 Violent Non-State Actors with Dr Brian J Phillips: this module focuses on the political science literature on violent non-state actors. It examines why non-state actors resort to violence and crime, what tactics and strategies they use, how they fund their existence, how they undermine the state and what can be done to counter the instability they cause. The the module examines the objectives of these organizations, what their mobilization strategies are and what often constitutes their support base.
• GV217 Conflict Analysis with Professor Faten Ghosn & Dr. Ireen Litvak-Zur: this course provides an overview and a basic framework for understanding the evolving field of conflict analysis. It examines theories that attempt to explain the causes, dynamics and management of conflicts, be they international or domestic. It focuses on the various strategies of conflict management ranging from direct negotiations to the role of third parties, such as mediation, humanitarian intervention, as well as conflict transformation strategies, such as prosecution, reparations, and institutional reforms.
• GV212 International Institutions with Dr Zorzeta Bakaki: this course offers a comprehensive overview of the role of international institutions in promoting international cooperation. The course assumes and builds upon students’ prior understanding of theories of international relations and of international politics. The module is designed around the following question: Do international institutions promote international cooperation? In particular, the course analyzes the main challenges to international cooperation and how international institutions (IIs) can help to overcome them. To answer this question, the module relies on three pillars: First, it introduces a set of theories to help understand cooperation among states. Second, it applies these theories to the analysis of some of the most important IIs. Finally, the last part of the module reviews the effects of IIs both on the behaviour of states and on international markets.

Teaching Assistant - Essex Summer School in Social Science Data Analysis

• 1M Introduction to Quantitative Methods in R with Dr Rabia Malik: this course introduces participants to the analysis of quantitative data in the free, open-source software R. R is a highly versatile software environment suitable for introductory and advanced quantitative social science and data analysis. The course offers participants a near-complete foundation to use R for all commonly encountered tasks in social science data analytics.