American University School of International Service
Faculty Profiles
Comparative & Regional Studies - Americas
Americas Focus
The Americas includes the
35 independent states and
other overseas territories of
North American, South
America and the Caribbean.
The course offerings on the
historical and growing
interconnectedness of the
countries of the Americas
explore the evolution of
United States-Latin
American relations and
domestic politics in the
region. More topical
courses address issues such
as the historical genesis of
race relations and their
impact today, the evolution
of the Cold War and its
impact on the region, the
transnationalization of the
War on Drugs, and the
impact of neoliberal
economic policies.
Carole Gallaher
Professor Gallaher does research in two distinct areas—organized
violence by non-state actors and urban politics. In the first area,
on which she has spent more time examining the politics, internal
dynamics, and patterns of violence of militias, paramilitaries,
private military contractors, and drug
cartels among others. She is currently
working on an NIJ funded project (with
colleague Dan Schneider) about cross
border cooperation between US and
Mexican law enforcement agencies
policing drug cartels. Contact her at
caroleg@american.edu
Agustina Giraudy
Professor Giraudy's book, Democrats and Autocrats (Oxford
University Press, 2015), explores the multiple pathways towards
subnational undemocratic regime continuity within democratized
countries. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in the Journal
of Politics, Journal of Politics in Latin America, Studies in Comparative
International Development, Latin American Research Review, Journal
of Democracy (en Español), Revista de
Ciencia Política (Chile), among others.
Before joining AU, Professor Giraudy
held a postdoctoral position at the
Harvard Academy for International and
Area Studies, taught at Universidad
Torcuato Di Tella and Universidad de
San Andrés (Argentina). Contact her at
giraudy@american.edu .
Office of Comparative and Regional Studies
crs@american.edu
American University School of International Service
Sample Courses
SIS 658: Financial Issues in Latin
America
- Systematic financial problemsfiscal banking currency and
debt crises often in highly
damaging combination--have
loomed large in the economic
history of Latin America. This
course analyzes both the
fundamental and precipitating
causes of these financial crises,
focusing on economic policy
and institutional shortcomings
as well as on other domestic
and external forces that
generate financial instability.
SIS 676: Americas in
Comparative Perspective
- This course examines Latin
American development in a
historical and conceptual
perspective. These include the
origins of import-substitution,
the rise and fall of military
regimes, the adoption of
democratic forms of political
organization, the introduction
of sweeping market-oriented
reforms, the persistence of
political and social violence,
and the growing importance of
global issues, trade and finance
as much as democracy and
human rights.
SIS 676: Government and
Development in Latin America
- The goal of this course is to
study and analyze these
dynamics and processes, which
to a great extent shape the
daily lives of citizen living
beyond the country capitals.
Austin Hart
Professor Hart is Assistant Professor of Quantitative Methods
and Coordinator of the Graduate Methods Program at SIS. He
specializes in political campaigns, public opinion, and statistical
analysis. His book, Economic Voting - A
Campaigned Centered Theory (Cambridge
University Press) analyzes the
communication strategies candidates
employ in response to national
economic conditions and the effects of
these strategies on voters. In addition
to his book project, Dr. Hart's research
has been published in the Journal of
Politics and Comparative Political Studies.
Contact him at ahart@american.edu .
Cathy Schneider
Professor Cathy Lisa Schneider writes and teaches on urban
politics, comparative social movements, collective violence, urban
policing, criminal justice, immigration
and racial and ethnic discrimination in
Europe, the United States, and Latin
America. She is co-editor of Collective
Violence, Contentious Politics and Social
Change: A Charles Tilly Reader with
Ernesto Castaneda and Police Power and
Race Riots: Urban Unrest in Paris and New
York. Contact her at
cschnei@american.edu .
Matthew M. Taylor
Professor Taylor's research and teaching interests include state
capacity, corruption, judicial politics, and Latin American
political economy. He has lived and
worked extensively in Brazil, most
recently as a member of the faculty at
the University of São Paulo, from 2006
to 2011. His scholarly work has been
published in a variety of journals.
Professor Taylor won the 2008 Vitor
Nunes Leal Prize, sponsored by the
Brazilian Political Science Association
for his work on Judging Policy: Courts and
Policy Reform in Democratic Brazil.
Contact him at mtaylor@american.edu .
Office of Comparative and Regional Studies
crs@american.edu