“To Balance the World: The Development of the U.S. National Interest, 1935 – 1963”
My dissertation examines the fluidity of Realisms in the early Cold War. It positions balance of power as an ideology animating conceptions of international society, and traces Realist thought through the twin ascendancies of the military intellectual and the defense intellectual. Limited war and mutual security serve as the policies for implementing balance of power. I use Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory to describe and explore the overlapping social connections constituting the national security state. My inquiry highlights how bipolar thinking within the military-industrial-academic complex contributed to enduring inequalities of thought. Prior to my arrival at BU, I served for approximately twelve years as an officer in the U.S. Army.
At Boston University, I served as a Teaching Fellow for the History of International Relations, 1900 to 1945; the History of the World Wars; the History of War; and the History of International Relations, 1945 to the Present. I also taught introductory international relations courses to high school students as part of BU’s Summer Challenge program. For three consecutive semesters, I offered an undergraduate writing course on the U.S. State Department’s Dissent Channel for the BU College of Arts and Sciences Writing Center. At the United States Military Academy at West Point, I taught introductory courses on composition and literature and served as co-director for an advanced composition course with cultural studies components focused on Egypt and the Maghreb/North Africa, respectively.