Teaching
I teach classes on research design, research methods, and a range of topics in comparative politics and international relations, including human rights, violence and conflict, and Latin American politics.
I have experience teaching at the undergraduate, MA, and PhD levels, and I consistently receive outstanding teaching evaluations. I make particular efforts to include students in my research, and I was previously honored as MIT’s undergraduate research mentor of the year.
I believe in holding students to high standards, while giving them the tools and support necessary to succeed. Rigor and caring are both central to my approach to teaching.
I provide detailed, substantive feedback to students, and my classes include group activities, debates, field trips, hands-on exercises, and conversations with authors, policy-makers, and diplomats.
Beyond the classroom, I am always looking for ways to support student well-being. For example, at MIT I led an initiative to improve student mental health by providing more outdoor seating on campus. More recently, when the coronavirus pandemic struck in 2020, I acted quickly to create a virtual speaker series to help students remain academically engaged and connected to one another.
I am a committed advocate for equity and inclusion in higher education. Currently, I serve on the board of Women Also Know Stuff, an organization that promotes the expertise of women in political science. I also volunteer as a mentor through the American Political Science Association (APSA).
“Professor Bateson was an excellent professor who truly cared for her students and their success. ... She was always willing to consult outside of office hours, and she took the time to help her students learn on their own terms.”
“The prof is very understanding of everyone’s individual situations, and this really made the course very enjoyable for me. I never felt like I couldn’t succeed.”
“You really have contributed to me falling in love with qualitative methods. Most students have a list of profs that they aspire to be if they were ever to continue in academia, and you have definitely made the list. I hope other students are as lucky as I was to have you as a professor this semester. Keep being you.”
“This professor is energetic, dynamic, highly critical in a good way, engaged, and very, very gifted in covering an extraordinarily wide ground in a very short time. She is also very giving of her time and intellect to students. This person helped me LEARN. And that is awesome.”
“The professor was super incredible. She understood the needs and differences of each student and worked with it. She is amazing. My best professor so far in GSPIA.”
Teaching Experience
University of Ottawa
API 5136 — Research Methods for Public Policy (g)
API 6339 — Violence and Citizen Security in Latin America (g)
API 6339 — Human Rights: Policy & Politics (g)
ECH 2320 — Qualitative Methods in Conflict Studies and Human Rights (ug)
ECH 3310 — Current Problems in International Human Rights (ug)
ECH 4310 — Human Rights in Latin America (ug)
MIT
17.878 — Qualitative Research: Design and Methods (g)
17.850 — Political Science Scope and Methods (co-taught with Rich Nielsen) (g)
17.55 — Introduction to Latin American Studies (ug)
17.URG — Undergraduate Research (ug)
“In reflecting on my studies, in undergrad and until now, the professor seems to have been the one who has cared most about their students. The professor truly is a phenomenal instructor who wants to see every student succeed. Her turn around time on assignments nears insanity (how does she sleep?), she provides helpful feedback, and she always tries to make herself available to her students. Make this woman the dean. She is excellent.”
“J’ai vraiment aimer la manière que le professeur presenter sa matière dans le “groupe discussion.” Elle est une professeur qui se soucis de la santé mentale de ses élèves et veut vraiment la réussite des ses élèves. Je trouve que la manière qu’elle présente ses cours et la manière qu’elle fait se evaluations sont juste et reflète la matière. Elle devrait sans aucun doute continuer ces strategies! C’EST EXCELLENT! ”
