Research

Key Questions:
I am primarily interested in the intersection of political philosophy and education. My key questions are:

  1. How have colleges and universities served as sites of civic education?
  2. How does our national notion of citizenship affect educational opportunities afforded to various groups across time?
  3. How are social movements and ideas of democracy and citizenship transmitted through education and educators?

Topics of Interest:
History of Higher Ed, African American History, Philosophy and History of Education, Citizenship, Civics Education, U.S. Foreign Policy, Political Theory, National Building and Education, Democracy and Education, Education in Times/Places of Conflict, Intellectual History

Educational Background:
Ph.D. Education, Rutgers University, in progress
-Concentrations: History and Political Theory

M.A. Education, Rutgers Graduate School of Education 2019
-Concentration: History of Education
-Africana Studies Graduate Certificate

M.A. International Affairs, American University School of International Service, 2014
-Concentrations: International Organizations and Social Political Theory

B.A. Political Philosophy, University of Dallas, 2011
-Concentrations: International Studies and French

Other questions I consistently think about in the course of my work include:

    1. How is domestic education influenced by the U.S.’s role/position in the world and in global affairs?
    2. How is education used by the state?
    3. In what ways does education help to maintain the regime or status quo? In what ways does education challenge it?
    4. How has/how should the current U.S. education system prepare students for democratic self-governance?
    5. How does formal and informal education contribute to a sense of shared (national/cultural) identity?
    6. How do we—as perpetrators and victims–pass on knowledge of national trauma and conflict to future generations through education?
Strands of research:
  1. History of HBCUs as sites of civic education
  2. Transmission of ideas about democracy, citizenship, and civic identity
  3. Nation building and citizenship formation in education
  4. U.S. foreign policy and domestic education
  5. How schools as institutions reflect our notions of citizenship
  6. Education in times of conflict or oppression