Christopher

Certified Tutor

I am a lecturer at Boston University, earned my Ph.D. from Harvard, and have previously taught at American University and the College of the Holy Cross. Throughout my career, I have put great effort into transformative teaching, careful curriculum design, and attentive mentoring of students. I have extensive experience designing and teaching courses across social science disciplines in a number of subject areas, including Intercultural Understanding, Cross-Cultural Communication, African Politics, Urbanization in Africa, History and Politics of International Relations, Comparative Politics, Religion and World Politics, and African American Studies, among others. My classes incorporate insights from political science, law, history, economics, sociology and social psychology to facilitate students' learning. I have taken a hands-on approach to teaching students how to read and understand complex concepts and conduct and present original research. I meet with my students individually to give them personalized academic advice and receive feedback on my courses, and I assist students as they apply to graduate and professional schools, study abroad programs, and other opportunities. My efforts have been rewarded as I have witnessed my students become effective writers; watched them apply lessons learned in my courses to other classes; and heard them express the effects my classes have had (one student even described my teaching as "transcendent"). My teaching is informed by my research, which centers on both African politics and the roles of Identity (religion, ethnicity, sex, gender, etc.) on politics cross-nationally. My research has taken my to Kenya and Ethiopia, where I have conducted interviews with many prominent religious figures, civil society leaders and government officials; developed connections with NGOs; and visited or participated in a number of public religious, political and educational events. I currently have several articles under review or revision. I have also applied my research skills and substantive expertise to curriculum design, including developing an intercultural communications curriculum and leading sessions on diversity and inclusion.