Teaching

I aim to impart as extensive a framework of global historical geography as possible. My core teaching at Stanford University is a two-part course on global human geography, the first segment covering Africa and Asia, the second turning to Europe, the Americas, and the rest of the world. Both courses offer comprehensive coverage of environmental, demographic, geopolitical, cultural, and economic issues. I also offer a survey course on the history of Southeast Asia, as well as an advanced undergraduate seminar on the history and geography of current global events. I occasionally teach courses on world history, at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.

Committed to educational outreach, I also teach in Stanford University's program in Continuing Studies. Several of my Continuing Studies coursesare available to the public as free podcasts through Stanford iTunes, including my 2008 course on the historical geography of U.S. presidential elections. My fall 2011 course on the history and geography of current global events will be released in early 2012.

My teaching interests extend to pedagogical writings. I am a co-author (with Lester Rowntree, Marie Price, and William Wyckoff) of two textbooks in world geography. The first, Diversity Amid Globalization, is aimed at a relatively advanced undergraduate audience; the second, Globalization and Diversity, is designed for beginning undergraduates. My main contributions to both books are the chapters on East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia.

BOUNDARY, n. In political geography, an imaginary line between two nations, separating the imaginary rights of one from the imaginary rights of the other.
Ambrose Bierce quotes (American Writer, Journalist and Editor, 1842-1914)