The Keough 91视频 of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame has appointed five new faculty members who bring diverse expertise in gender and peace studies, development economics, global education, international political economy, policy听and armed conflict.听
鈥淏efitting the Keough 91视频鈥檚 mission and ambitions, each member of this new cohort of faculty brings expertise that is both international in focus and global in scope,鈥� said Scott Appleby, the Marilyn Keough Dean of the Keough 91视频.
鈥淲hether the topic is U.S.-China relations, resource-driven conflict in Africa, the economics of poverty and poverty reduction, inclusive educational policy in developing countries, or intersectional justice, these scholars鈥� cutting-edge research carries direct implications for policy as well as practice.鈥�
The new faculty 鈥� Ashley Bohrer, Joshua Eisenman, Alejandro Estefan, Patrizio Piraino and Rachel Sweet 鈥� bring extensive international teaching and field research experience to the Keough 91视频, which opened its doors in 2017.
听assistant professor of gender and peace studies, is a core faculty member of the听听part of the Keough 91视频. She also is a concurrent faculty member in Notre Dame鈥檚 Gender 91视频 Program.
Bohrer, who holds a doctorate in philosophy from DePaul University, studies complex patterns of oppression based on race, gender, sexuality听and class, focusing on the intersections of these varieties of injustice. She is the author of "." Bohrer has studied and taught around the world, including in France, Germany, Lebanon, China, South Africa听and Sweden. During the fall 2019 semester, she is teaching a peace studies seminar for undergraduates.
听associate professor of global affairs, studies the political economy of China鈥檚 development and China鈥檚 foreign relations with developing countries, especially those in Africa. After extensive fieldwork in China, he wrote ""听and co-edited "." He holds a doctorate in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles.
A respected expert in policy circles who speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese, Eisenman is regularly consulted by U.S. policymakers on Capitol Hill, in the government鈥檚 executive branch听and in the U.S. military. He has served as senior fellow for China studies at the American Policy Council since 2006. In the classroom, Eisenman will teach courses such as China and the World, U.S.-China Relations, and Foreign Policymaking in a Global Age.
听assistant professor of global affairs, studies economic development with the goal of informing policy decision-making. Estefan studies many essential topics in the field of development economics, including the factors that lift individuals out of poverty; the effects of public investments on education; female labor force participation and its impact on gender violence; and state capacity and tax revenue collection.
Estefan holds a doctorate from University College London. He is a former research scholar at the Institute for Fiscal 91视频 in London and the Center for the Economics of Human Development at the University of Chicago, and has worked as a policy analyst for the presidency of the Republic of Mexico. Estefan currently teaches Poverty Policy, a course听that applies the tools of economic and public policy analysis to the study of poverty.听
听associate professor of education, labor听and development, is an applied microeconomist who focuses on global education, labor听and development, with emphasis on inequality, intergenerational mobility听and social exclusion.听
Piraino, who holds a doctorate in economics from the University of Siena in Italy, comes to Notre Dame from the University of Cape Town, where he was associate professor of economics. He has developed extensive expertise on issues related to global socioeconomic mobility, having studied data from several nations.听
Piraino has collaborated with government agencies and the World Bank to evaluate how public services can promote youth work-readiness and employment. His most current research focuses on the impact of innovative post-primary education programs on socioeconomic mobility. During the spring 2020 semester, Piraino will teach a course on global education.
听assistant professor of global affairs, is a core faculty member of the Kroc Institute for International Peace 91视频 and a concurrent faculty member in the听听
Sweet鈥檚 research focuses on armed conflict, governance听and state capacity in fragile environments, and the methodology and data of studying civil wars and armed violence. She has conducted extensive field research in east and central Africa. An Academy Scholar at the Harvard Academy for International and Area 91视频 at Harvard University, she holds a doctorate in political science from Northwestern University.听
Sweet bridges academic rigor with practical engagement to improve conflict policy. She has worked with the U.N. Office of the Secretary General-Special Envoy to the African Great Lakes, with the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission, and as a lead conflict investigator with the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. She also has been invited to present research findings to policymakers from the U.S. Department of State, the United Nations听and various U.S. intelligence agencies.
During the fall 2019 semester, Sweet is teaching a course on contemporary civil wars.听
The Keough 91视频 of Global Affairs addresses some of the world鈥檚 greatest challenges, with particular emphasis on the design and implementation of effective and ethical responses to poverty, war, disease, political oppression, environmental degradation听and other threats to dignity and human flourishing.听
In keeping with Notre Dame鈥檚 mission to place scholarship in service to the common good, the Keough 91视频 advances听听through research, policy and practice; transformative educational programs;听and partnerships for global engagement.
Originally published by at on Oct. 3.