Alina Rosenkranz |
Jeffrey Meiser was excited to see young faces in the classroom on Aug. 25, his first day teaching at UP.
“I’m used to having classes full of 40-year-old men, so this is a nice change,” he joked.
Meiser, the political science department’s newest faculty member, is an expert on national defense issues. Before arriving on The Bluff, he was a professor at the College of International Security Affairs (CISA) in Washington D.C.
He taught in the regional and analytical department and was the director of South and Central Asia Studies. He also spent a semester in Germany teaching at the University of Mannheim.
Lauretta Frederking, chair of the political science department, is excited about Meiser’s arrival. His expertise in diplomacy, security and war crosses the four sub-disciplines of the political science department: U.S. politics, political theory, comparative politics and international relations.
Beyond teaching political science, Meiser, who lives with his wife and their two-year-old son, says he has a passion for food. After moving to Portland and exploring its culinary scene, his favorite restaurants in the area are Pho An and Tabor Tavern.
Meiser’s forthcoming book, “Power and Restraint: The Rise of the United States 1898-1941,” is based on the dissertation work he did at Johns Hopkins University. The book tracks the U.S.’s rise to power during the first half of the 20th century.
Meiser describes his new students as excited and energetic. To match their energy, he prefers engaging students in conversation rather than giving lengthy PowerPoint presentations.
“My philosophy of teaching is that it’s not my role to simply convey information, but to help students generate insights,” Meiser said. “So students having insights is what it’s all about.”
Last semester, Meiser taught a practice class on global security last semester, which sophomore Nick Deguines took. Deguines said he just knew he wanted to take one of Meiser’s classes.
“He is really specialized on South Asia,” Deguines said. “And I think it’s really unique and pretty interesting,”
Meiser will teach Strategies of War and Peace spring semester, which may interest business students focusing on economics, because military and business strategies have much in common, according to Frederking.
Frederking hopes Meiser will become a resource for many disciplines outside of political science, including professional schools across campus.
“We are very lucky to have someone coming to our department who already has demonstrated his excellence, in terms of teaching and scholarship,” Frederking said.
Alina Rosenkranz is a reporter for The Beacon. You can reach her at rosenkra17@up.edu.
