Teaching Curve 32 James Der Derian and Jayson Waters on Teaching Quantum IR

This month’s episode is with Dr. James Der Derian, Michael Hintze Chair of International Security Studies and Director of the Centre for International Security Studies, and Dr. Jayson Waters, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Centre for International Security Studies, which is part of the University of Sydney in Australia. They have been working together on the fundamentals of Quantum IR, which seeks to find connections between the quantum theory that explains the dynamics of subatomic particles and explanations of global political dynamics. 

Our conversation explores 

·       Definitions of Quantum IR as a theoretical approach to global politics. 

·       Approaches to teaching Quantum IR to graduate students as an exercise in unlearning assumptions and authorizing innovative thinking. 

·       And the value of dialogical, flat, and mutually empowering pedagogical contexts in which everyone involved thinks of their interactions as resting on the power to make the future. 

The interview was edited for length.

Acknowledgements:

Thanks to the steering committee for the International Studies Association’s Innovative Pedagogy Initiative, the folks at ISA HQ, and special thanks to Joel Lorenzatti, Sarah Dorr, and Josephine Anderson for logistical and technical support. 

Teaching Curve contacts:

Twitter: @TeachingCurve

Email: TeachingCurve@isanet.org

For 23 more stories about innovative and effective teachers of international studies, check out Pedagogical Journeys through World Politics, Palgrave Macmillan, 2020: https://www.palgrave.com/us/book/9783030203047