Political Science

tichenor@uoregon.edu | 541-346-4707

Courses: Power and Inequality (PS106), Introduction to American Government (PS201), The American Presidency (PS467/567), Democratic Dilemmas (PS351), Immigration Politics and Policy (PS399), Public Policy and Democracy (PS260), American Political Institutions

In my courses you:

• Make connections to lived experiences and real-world challenges.
• Explore new perspectives and nurture critical thinking.

In what ways are you working to make your teaching inclusive?

My courses are designed to examine important issues and debates from a variety of ideological, philosophical, and experiential viewpoints. They also place special emphasis on struggles over social, economic, and racial justice, exploring processes of democratic inclusion, marginalization, and exclusion. I also founded and direct the Wayne Morse Scholars Program, which provides learning opportunities for a diverse group of UO undergrads who are passionate about public affairs.

What do you do in terms of professional engagement with the teaching and learning culture on campus or nationally?

Lead and participate in American Political Science Association teaching workshops and training sessions; regularly observe colleagues in the classroom, providing feedback and learning from their pedagogy; Directed and led Teaching Institute on Immigration and New Americans for Oregon Humanities.

In what ways was your teaching in this course research-led—informed by research on how students learn and inflected by UO's research mission?

My courses (beyond the introductory level) enable students to undertake major research projects, encouraging primary research that links personal interests with key controversies in the field. Thanks to support from the Carnegie Corporation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, I also regularly involve both undergraduate and graduate students in larger research on immigrants, refugees, and human rights. The undergrad Wayne Morse Scholars Program that I direct also provides modest research grants to students in the program to conduct advanced research including honors theses.

What are you working on right now?

This year I'm coauthoring a new book about the vital role that young people play in remaking our social and political life. Like young civil rights marchers, antiwar protestors, labor activists and other reformers of the past, young people today are mobilizing on climate change, gun violence, immigrant rights, racial injustice, LGBTQ rights, mass incarceration, and other issues in potent ways. The impassioned voices at the heart of this new book remind me of the energy and intelligence of my UO students. When intellectually engaged, they can create a dialogue that reflects many teachers and students in the same classroom.