Thanks to my firsthand experiences with economic hardship and international professional settings, I aspire to create inclusive and engaging classrooms. I delivered these approaches to three comparative politics/international studies subjects that I taught at UW–Madison.

In 2021, I was awarded the Departmental Teaching Assistant Award.

I establish my teaching philosophy on compassion and inclusion. With combined four years of university-level teaching in very diverse and international environments, I cherish my teaching opportunities and proudly work to deliver exceptional learning experiences. My performance received above median evaluations from students and much rewarding feedback from and progress in learners. Most recently, I taught three undergraduate classes at the University of Wisconsin–Madison: 

  • The Comparative Study of Genocide (as a Teaching Assistant to Professor Scott Straus) 
  • The Politics of Human Rights (as a Teaching Assistant to Professor Scott Straus)  
  • Introduction to Comparative Politics (as a Teaching Assistant to Professor Nils Ringe)

Moreover, I graded for a range of courses under a diverse group of faculty members and on subjects varying in methodological, teaching, and assessment approaches. These classes included: 

  • Gender and Authoritarianism (for Professor Marwa Shalaby)
  • Russian Politics (for Professor Kathryn Hendley)
  • Introduction to Public Policy (for Dr. Jeremy Kedziora) 

Since fall 2021, I have been supervising a diverse group of undergraduate students interested in social science research. In total, I supervised four students as a 698 Undergraduate Research Program Mentor at UW–Madison. Recognizing diverse interests, needs, and preferences for professional careers after research training, I helped place them in their preferred career tracks in industry and advanced research. 

I mentored and supervised five undergraduate research assistants in Central Asia since 2023.

I continuously invest in my teaching skills and knowledge to deliver high quality and well-developed learning experiences. In 2021, I was accepted to the UW Teaching Academy as an Affiliate Member to continue my commitment in teaching excellence. 

I actively participate in departmental, campus-wide, and APSA’s teaching events. I completed: 

  • University of Wisconsin–Madison’s School of Education Discussion Project, 2022 
  • Postgraduate Certificate of Special Studies in Higher Education Teaching and Learning from the University of Westminster, U.K., 2011 

I am confident that such engagement and service improved my appreciation of the disciplinary and teaching diversity, helping me to deliver excellent social science teaching to students with diverse interests and learning preferences.

Teaching interests: I would welcome a chance to deliver a range of substantive and methodological courses. 

  • Substantively, I am interested especially in teaching comparative politics, political economy of development, and interdisciplinary classes on Russia and Greater Eurasia at the undergraduate, graduate, and executive levels. I consider introductory classes very important and am happy to deliver courses adjusted to different levels and demands. 
  • Methodologically, I have a strong training and background in applied mixed-methods, including from the IQMMR and ICER. Therefore, I am very interested in teaching courses in research methods and research design, both at the undergraduate and graduate level, as well as applied courses on field research, natural experiments, experimental and survey research, and qualitative and mixed-methods.

I can deliver compelling classroom experiences on the politics of Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, and Greater Eurasia with focus on post-communist states, comparative political institutions, and related topics in Russian and Uzbek languages. The latter might be helpful in attracting advanced level students and students with special skills who desire more challenging learning experiences.