Blogging will be less frequent for a while. I’m slowly settling into my new job at Mount St. Mary’s University (which includes getting used to spending 6-8 hours per week commuting). But so far I’m settling in well enough after my first week.
My office is smaller than before (though before I was replacing a senior faculty member) & it has no windows. But it’s cozy enough. I’m sure it’ll just take some time to get it set up just right. I managed to pick out a nice modern chair (everyone wonders why I don’t want a chair w/ wheels, rather than a stiff wooden one). I’m hoping to get a new table (not a “desk”) soon enough. That plus filling out the bookshelves, some posters on the walls, and a few other touches should make the place comfortable.
So far my classes are going well enough. I’m teaching three courses: Third World Political Development, American Foreign Policy, and Research Methods I. The first two are new for me, though my previous experience teaching comparative politics, IR, and Latin American politics help. The methods course is mostly a reformulation of the course I taught last semester at Dickinson, though w/ a greater emphasis on qualitative methods & research design issues (since majors here are required to take a second semester Methods II course that focuses on quantitative methods). Next semester should be relatively easier I’ll be teaching Latin American Politics (two sections), Comparative Politics, and Democracy & Democratization (all courses I’ve taught before). They’ve added Democracy & Democratization to the undergraduate catalog, as well as an Andean Politics & Culture course, upon my request. I’ll be teaching the Andean course next fall.
