My teaching philosophy is simple: I teach UCLA’s diverse student population, with the understanding that higher education changes socio-economic status, not simply for our students, but the spillover effects can impact communities and generations. I create an inclusive classroom environment that encourages students to build bridges across race/ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, and immigration status.
My experiences as a first-generation college graduate, and the first woman of color to earn tenure and promotion, in the Political Science Department at UCLA, drive my goals to motivate and build confidence in students, while teaching the theoretical and methodological tools necessary to thrive at UCLA and in their careers. I believe our collective investment in the academic pipeline, particularly for underrepresented minorities, women and first generation scholars must move beyond the rhetoric of diversity and inclusion, towards a commitment of sustained mentorship, as well as access to resources and opportunities.
My undergraduate and graduate courses fill an integral part of the curriculum on US racial and ethnic politics, political behavior and participation, gender and politics, immigrant politics and policy, state and local politics as well as research design and mixed-methods research.
(SELECT COURSE OFFERINGS BELOW IN POLITICAL SCIENCE UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED)
Race, Ethnicity and Gender in U.S. Politics (graduate)
This graduate course is a 10-week introduction to the ways in which the intersections of race, ethnicity, and gender enters and shapes politics, political behaviors, public opinions, group interests, and institutions. These factors will be examined in the U.S. context.
Introduction to Racial and Ethnic Politics (graduate)
This field seminar is the first installation of a two-quarter survey of the Race, Ethnicity and Politics literature designed for first and second-year Ph.D students. We broadly focus on the development of paradigms and central themes in the REP literature. The course is designed to help develop students of REP into strong researchers in political science and the social sciences more broadly
The Politics of American Suburbanization (undergraduate)
This seminar examines the political, social, economic and cultural evolution of the American suburb, particularly in the post-WWII era. Dominant themes focus broadly on the historical patterns and implications of public-partnerships in suburban development; inclusionary/exclusionary housing policies; racial/ethnic, class and gender conflicts; classic and contemporary theories of suburban politics and governance; as well as growth and decline for select suburban areas.
Introduction to Race, Ethnicity and Politics (undergraduate)
This course examines the historical and contemporary role of racial and ethnic minority groups in U.S. political system. We examine the political experiences of several racial and ethnic minority groups (Blacks or African Americans, American Indians, Latinos or Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans) as well as Muslim Americans and their interactions with the historically dominant racial group (non-Hispanic white Americans) in the U.S. system. Some major topics include racial formation, (pan)ethnic identity, citizenship, political participation and representation, public opinion, as well as interracial conflict and coalition building. We also cover some current politics and policy debates affecting racial/ethnic and religious minorities in the United States.
Thriving as a First-Generation College Student (1-unit special seminar) (undergrad)
First-generation college students (or FGSs) comprise a population that is often overlooked at American colleges and universities. Broadly defined, FGSs may have parents have who attained neither a bachelor’s nor associate’s degree and/or may be international students, who are the first generation to study in U.S. Some scholarly research suggests that FGSs are more likely to have academic, financial, cultural, emotional, and later professional limitations than students whose parents attended college. The goal of this seminar is to bring focused attention to the ways in which class, economic inequality, race/ethnicity, immigration status, mobility and other factors may affect first-generation students’ ability to thrive academically and professionally. We will focus on how students can overcome some of these limitations and thrive on the road to academic success at UCLA and beyond.
Research Design and Analysis in the Social Sciences (graduate seminar in Masters of Social Science (MaSS) Program)
This quarter focuses on designing an appropriate research strategy/design that will help you to answer your research question(s). Students are expected to spend most of their time on their own research design project. To structure this research, a series of short assignments will be required. The reading assignments help to facilitate your individual writing process and our group discussions.
Research Design, Departmental Honors Program (undergraduate)
This course serves as one of the requirements for eligibility to participate in the Political Science Honors Thesis Program. Spring quarter focuses on designing an appropriate research strategy/design that will help you to answer your research question(s). Students are expected to spend most of their time on their own preliminary research. To structure this preliminary research, a series of short assignments will be required.
Metropolitan Governance (undergraduate)
This course examines how political, social, economic and cultural factors influence metropolitan governance in both US central cities and suburban areas. With a specific focus on race/ethnicity, immigration, and class, we will consider some major issues in metropolitan governance through classic and contemporary readings on political power, the political economy of cities, racial/economic segregation as well as political incorporation and racial/ethnic coalitions. We will broadly examine how US metropolitan governments have traditionally balanced allocative versus distributive concerns of newcomers and existing groups.
Politics Beyond the Urban Core: Race, Class and the Politics of Place (Graduate)
The suburbs of metropolitan areas are where most Americans live. The process of American suburbanization was one of the biggest changes in American society in the last century. Yet, we still know very little about how suburbanization continues to change American politics at the national, state and local levels. This course examines the social, cultural, political and economic development of American suburbs, largely from 1945-present. Course topics include housing, zoning, and exclusionary policies; the evolution of political culture, ideology and party identification in cities and suburbs; civic and electoral politics in suburbs; metropolitan fragmentation and suburban political economy; as well as recent developments in immigrant and ethnic minority suburbanization.
2014 ICPSR Summer Program in Quantitative Methods and Social Research Designing, Conducting and Analyzing Multi-Racial/Ethnic Political Surveys July 28-30, 2014
This workshop will focus on designing, conducting and analyzing U.S. based multi-racial/ethnic political surveys using data from the 2008 Collaborative Multi-racial Post-Election Survey (CMPS). The CMPS is a national survey of 4,563 respondents who voted in the November 2008 election and that self-identified as Asian (n=919), Black (n=945), Latino (n=1577), and White (n=1122). The CMPS is the first multiracial and multilingual survey of registered voters across multiple states and regions in a presidential election. The survey was available in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, and Vietnamese.
This workshop will discuss developing a multi-racial/ethnic political survey including collaborative funding strategies and project teams, developing the survey instrument; multiple language protocols; conducting random digit dial versus online surveys, and developing a research design project using multi-racial/ethnic politics data.
The workshop served as the first of its kind at the ICPSR Summer Program, focusing on the development of multi-racial/multi-lingual survey data.