Government offerings in the recent past have focused on the United States, but with Emma Willard’s global diversity, it only makes sense that students would have the opportunity to compare and contrast the governments of many countries, including their own. In one section of the class this year, students from Russia, Afghanistan, China, Canada, South Africa, Hong Kong, and the United States bring their first-hand experience of vastly different political climates to bear on their discussions. Katie’s own background studying government and international law and practicing international arbitration makes her a natural fit for guiding the exploration.

Katie earned her BA in government and legal studies from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, ME, and her JD from Cornell Law School in Ithaca, NY. After practicing international arbitration at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer US LLP in New York City, she decided to pursue her passion for history, politics, and international affairs into a career in education. “My goal is to give students the opportunity to hone their critical thinking, communication, and discussion skills and their engagement with civics—I’m trying to help them move to the next level, whether that be in college or as an active member and participant in civic society,” Katie shares. “Hopefully, I’m helping them build those skills and the confidence to be able to meaningfully engage as they go forward at Emma and beyond.”

Just a couple of months into the school year, a visit to Snell 101 during C block showed those skills and confidence already on full display. In a student-driven Harkness discussion, the group took a deep dive into themes surrounding democratic backsliding and current threats to democracy. Using examples from a variety of resources, reports, and journal articles they read in class or found in their own research—and guided by community norms established at the beginning of the class year—each person shared their discoveries. Katie prepared them ahead of time for the discussion, asking that they come to the table with original ideas, thoughtful questions, and respectful challenges to differing opinions. The robust discussion ranged from the use of nationalism, economic inequality and uncertainty, and distrust in political institutions to undermine democracy to social issues, the economy, tribal politics, polarization, power dynamics, capitalism, and education. 

Beyond learning about history or government and politics, students in Katie’s classroom are encouraged to sharpen their talents for critical thinking, research, written communication, discussion, debate, and collaboration. “I want to develop those skills in a way that they can transfer to other disciplines outside of history and outside of government,” she says. “I’m trying to make the material relevant to students and give them some ownership in their learning…so they're able to have some creativity with it and be able to take it in directions that interest them while still making sure they are really learning the core components of the material.”

A good portion of the Comparative Government and Politics course centers around case studies of nine countries, including fully developed democracies, developing democracies, and authoritarian regimes. The plan includes examining the political institutions, political history, and various political, economic, and social challenges of the United Kingdom, India, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, Nigeria, Russia, China, and Iran. “The goal is to compare and contrast how and why politics occur the way they do in various political systems,” Katie notes. “Why are they functioning the way they function in these different places? How are they similar? How are they different? What are the factors driving that?”

As they work their way through the cases of various countries, students can expect to conduct political simulations, such as a mock Prime Minister's Questions session at the end of the unit on the UK, assess different parties and their policy positions, and engage with documentaries, academic articles, and news sources—all informed by research into contemporary issues in various countries.

 

 

Alongside her work in bringing this dynamic course to life and teaching a section of US History, Katie has also taken the reins of the History Department as its chair and is a member of the Civic Discourse Task Force. Her work in these areas gives her a unique perspective on the alignment of efforts across the school. She can already see the impact of the Civic Discourse work with regard to upcoming elections. “When we're talking about politics—particularly United States politics—there can be tense moments,” she explains. “We started taking a look at the 2024 US presidential election and looking at down-ballot races as well. We’re also putting it in context, as 2024 is the year when more people around the world are voting than in any prior year. More than 40% of the world’s population is voting in a major election this year.”

With the civic discourse work in mind, Katie leveraged the competencies from the Civic Discourse Task Force work and the norms that the group used for their own work as a baseline for class discussions, inviting students to weigh in on norms they find important in order to have a good experience in the class. “This is an example of the cross-pollination between the work of civic discourse and the work in our classroom,” she says.

As for leading her department, Katie is excited about being able to coordinate an overarching vision. “We are being really mindful of our course sequencing and thinking about what students have learned in prior courses and being able to leverage that and build on both content and skills that they've learned at a prior level,” she explains. 

“One of the most important norms that we have is being mindful of not assuming that everyone agrees—or not everyone agrees with you,” Katie concludes. “Be mindful that there are different opinions; people have different experiences and perspectives. And, after events like the election, be mindful of the impact that it has on others, navigating those conversations as thoughtfully as possible. We encourage students to advocate for their positions, but to do that in a thoughtful, respectful way, to utilize evidence, to avoid ad hominem statements, and to really be able to engage in discourse around important issues while recognizing the high-stakes nature of them.”

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This piece was written for the Fall 2024/Winter 2025 issue of Signature magazine.