Education

• Ph.D. Political Science University of Wisconsin-Madison, June 2006 Dissertation: The Relevance of John Adams: Combining Liberal, Republican and Christian Ideals in Early American Political Thought
• Master of Arts, Political Science University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1998
• Master of Arts, Political Science McGill University, May, 1996
• Bachelor of Science, Political Science and Mathematics University of Wisconsin-Madison, May, 1989

Courses Taught

• 155 American Political Institutions
• 350 Great Questions in Politics
• 412 Modern Western Political Theory
• 413 American Political Thought
• 570 Graduate Seminar in Political Theory
• 457A U.S. Constitutional Law I
• 457B U.S. Constitutional Law II
• 471F Proseminar in Public Law: The First Amendment
• 347 Judicial Process
• 455 Criminal Law and Procedure
• 540A Graduate Seminar in American Political Thought

Selected Publications and Presentations

"Nietzsche on Christ vs. Christianity," Soundings: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Fall 1995

"Book review of In Defense of Human Dignity," Robert Kraynak and Glenn Tinder, editors, Catholic Social Science Review, Fall 2004

"The Functional Equivalency of Nationalism and Religion: The Case of Québec," Presented at Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL, April, 2008

“The Relevance of John Adams: Combining Liberal and Republican Ideals in Early American Political Thought,” Presented at Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL, April, 2005

Chair and Panel Discussant, "Catholic Political Thought," The Henry Institute Symposium on Religion and Politics, Grand Rapids, MI, April, 2004

Research and Interests

I am currently working on a manuscript for a book examining the political thought of
John Adams.  The book examines Adams’ thought and addresses the rather drastic differences in interpretation of Adams as either a classical republican thinker or a classical liberal thinker.  I argue that portrayals of his thought that try to minimize his liberal or republican credentials miss the point.  Adams attempts to combine ideals that are central to both traditions and that he does so with remarkable success.  In this regard, attention to Adams’ thought may provide invaluable assistance to current efforts at transcending the modern liberal/communitarian divide.

I am also working on publication of a journal article examining the role that religion and nationalism plays in the function of social identity in Québec.

My research interests include American Political Thought, First Amendment Law, Modern Political Thought, and Religion and Politics.  Future projects include an examination of political theory in Catholic Social Thought with particular attention to the work of John Courtney Murray and Jacques Maritain as well as major Papal social encyclicals such as Rerum Novarum.