My name is Kelly Grenier, and I am an Assistant Professor of Politics and Law at Emory & Henry University. As a political science professor, I design my classroom to be a place that welcomes curiosity, fosters creativity, and promotes critical thinking. I strive to cultivate in my students an enduring appreciation and curiosity for the discipline through embracing mistakes, giving accessible and widely-sourced primary and secondary resources, and constantly evaluating my own teaching practices.
A large part of my role as an instructor is communicating how the knowledge students gain in my courses is applicable both to a student’s career goals and discipline of interest. Having worked as a student success coach, academic advisor, and the political science internship director, I know from experience how important these aims are for both student satisfaction and retention. In the classroom, I address these aims in two ways. The first is to facilitate the development of workplace skills through using technologies and assessments relevant to the workforce such as case briefs and moot court exercises, and the second is to emphasize the interconnectedness of the disciplines. To encourage multidisciplinary thinking, I allow my research to inform my teaching.
The overarching theme in my research agenda is considering art as a political instrument. In doing so, my research analyzes two distinct aspects of the politics of music, both related to regime strength and survival: its expressive role and the threat that expression might pose to political regime survival. Thus far, this line of inquiry has led me to ask why regimes choose to censor their citizens’ cultural expression, how such censorship can be employed even by democracies, what happens to citizens living through periods of cultural censorship, and whether art enables political opposition to overcome coordination problems. Understanding the importance of cultural expression, I bring it into the classroom and to my new textbook project.
To give an example of this approach in practice, when teaching measurements of democracy in Intro to Comparative Politics, I allow students to analyze a government within a play, book, comic, graphic novel, or film with a commonly-cited measure in the discipline. Through application, students saw firsthand the process of operationalizing democratic and autocratic regimes. Furthermore, to analyze themes of representation in Intro to American Government, I ask my students to look at protest songs and describe the discourse being documented through text analysis. Thus, using art, I can introduce methods, teach key concepts, and allow students to bring in their own experiences to create a richer discussion.
Having completed a master’s degree in international relations at Aberystwyth University, an institution renowned for its approach to human security, I have expanded my knowledge base by focusing on the subfields of comparative and American politics at the doctoral level. This allows me to teach a robust offering of introductory and upper level courses in the three commonly-emphasized areas of political science alongside research methods. Additionally, I have obtained a Graduate Certificate in College Teaching and Learning, and my teaching has been awarded at the department, college, and university levels.
What Students Say
I enjoyed the subject matter and that the professor presented the information from a non biased standpoint. She never put her political beliefs ahead of the information but still made us use our minds in discussions. In this day and age, that is refreshing.
Anonymous Student, Spring ’18
I liked that the teacher made the class interactive and fun. I also liked how each time we met for class, the teacher set up the lectures so that nothing was expected or boring.
Anonymous Student, Spring ’18
I thoroughly enjoyed the thought provoking discussions we had throughout this course regarding world politics. I also appreciated that the teacher was chill about things like Starbucks consumption.
Anonymous Student, Fall ’19
She’s so approachable and kind. She also cares about how we’re doing and how we feel about the course. She makes learning fun.
Anonymous Student, Spring ’20
In a time when more and more people are struggling with self identity and mental health, it can be hard to ask those around you for help or clarification. Just things as simple as putting “she/her/hers” at the bottom of the email were signs that students could trust her to be accepting. She proved that with how she showed up for us.
Anonymous Student, Fall ’20
I enjoyed how organized and upfront the class was laid out. The assignments were very easy to follow and you knew what was expected before every assignment. I also enjoyed that we could voice our opinions and ideas respectfully throughout lectures.
Anonymous Student, Spring ’21
She was the best professor that I have had. She was always prompt in her responses to my questions, very personable, and made a “required” class fun and something that my roommates wished they were in when they overheard me in class.
Anonymous Student, Spring ’22
She has been one of the best instructors in my life, not just college, even though she was virtual. I never felt like there was a stark imbalance in power, which I feel is very prevalent within the university setting. She also was very willing and open to reexplaining topics that were not understood the first time and was always trying to make sure that her students were gaining benefit from the material. That is what teaching is all about and she exemplifies this perfectly.
Anonymous Student, Spring ’21
Always willing to work with students and treats us with a great deal of respect. A lesson was never mailed in and every question was answered with a proper amount of focus and concern.
Anonymous Student, Spring ’21
Kelly Grenier 