The Course

Oct 31 2024 142 ep. 26 mins 5

The Course Podcast artwork

Created by The University of Chicago Yuen Campus in Hong Kong, The Course is a compilation of personal conversations with professors from The University of Chicago. Each episode features one professor, where they talk about who they are outside lecture halls, the path that led them to become a professor, and all the ups and downs along the way. For curious students and anyone interested, here’s The Course on career stories as told by professors from UChicago.

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Episode 142 - Chiara Galli: "Every rose has its thorns."

Oct 31 2024 27 mins

Assistant Professor Chiara Galli from the Department of Comparative Human Development is on The Course to talk about how her childhood experience moving to the US from Italy influenced her decision to study migrant issues. Professor Galli also shares various insights on choosing a major, being in an interdisciplinary department, and also her love for research methods. Don't miss ou

Episode 141 - Paula Harper: "That's a thing you can do?"

Oct 24 2024 28 mins

Assistant Professor Paula Harper's participation in the choir drew her to music classes in her English major college days, and accidentally gave her a second major by the time she graduates. As she continues her journey to finding her unique path, she found her research interest by combining music, virality and social media platforms together. Join us this week on The Course, to he

Episode 140 - Scott Gehlbach: "I got it. I know what I'm doing."

Oct 17 2024 28 mins

Professor Scott Gehlbach from the Department of Political Science and Harris School of Public Policy would almost have gone back to his family farm business had it not been for his love for city life and the various life-changing experiences. After spending extensive time in Eastern Europe, he found his research niche and continues to quench his curiosity through conversations with

Episode 139 - Jennifer Pitts: "It was a leap of faith."

Oct 10 2024 25 mins

Professor Jennifer Pitts from the Department of Political Science is on The Course this week to talk about her career journey from being captured by art history to working as a reporter to finally pursuing a graduate degree in political theory. She also shares her recent focus on the international writings of W.E.B. Du Bois, and the most gratifying part of her job as a professor.

Episode 138— Ruth Bloch Rubin: "You are the captain of your own ship."

Oct 03 2024 27 mins

As an academic studying American politics at the University of Chicago, Assistant Professor Ruth Bloch Rubin recognizes she is living in an unprecedented time that future political historians will be studying intently. It is equally a great time to indulge in her political nerdiness with her students. In this episode, Professor Bloch Rubin discusses the importance of feeling driven

Episode 137— Marco Garrido: "I kind of stumbled into being a professor."

Sep 26 2024 28 mins

With various interests, Associate Professor Marco Garrido was still determining his next steps after graduation and went off exploring the world. It was when he shared dinner tables with the poor and the rich that he finally found his research interest in the Philippines. Currently studying how people's daily experiences shape their understanding of democracy, Professor Garrido sha

Episode 136—Molly Offer-Westort: "I was interested in exploring the world more and having different experiences."

Sep 19 2024 24 mins

From being an English teacher in Central Lesotho to being a Peace Corps Volunteer in Madagascar to working with the World Bank and the United Nations, Assistant Professor Molly Offer-Westort chose to experience various opportunities before embarking on an academic life. Now, she uses data science and statistical tools to understand people's online behaviors and help policymakers ma

Episode 135 - Robert A. Pape: "The goal here is to use social science to save lives."

Sep 12 2024 35 mins

Professor Robert A. Pape from the Department of Political Science discusses how his early research interest in air power and international political violence brought him to sit with military officers and policy decision-makers on various occasions. Professor Pape also expanded his interest in national security and democracy as he continued his research and teaching path at the Univ

Episode 134 - Timothy Harrison: "I had $287 in my bank account ."

Sep 05 2024 27 mins

Associate Professor Timothy Harrison finished high school and ventured off to build his career as a model until he decided to pivot to a scholarly pathway and fulfill his dream as a novelist. Now as an author and co-author of multiple books, Professor Harrison finds joy in teaching, reading, and thinking about various English literature in the 16th to 17th century. Tune in to liste

Episode 133 - Catherine Kearns: "Soak up your time in college."

Aug 29 2024 26 mins

Assistant Professor in the Department of Classics Catherine (Katie) Kearns is on The Course to talk about her study in Mediterranean archaeology and how her work crosses to reconstructing and studying ancient environments. Growing up, Professor Kearns was an athlete, loved doodling, and also picked up Latin. When she was introduced to history and, later, archaeology, she knew that'