Ayse Zarakol

04/14/20 • 101 min

Dr Ayse Zarakol of the University of Cambridge joins the Hayseed Scholar podcast. Dr Zarakol chats with Brent about growing up in Turkey, her decisions to attend college in the US, become a political science and classics double-major, and pursue a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin (and her dissatisfaction before it with work as a paralegal). She talks about graduate school, developing her dissertation and choosing her dissertation chair, her success on the job market before the financial crisis in 2008 eliminated a lot of options, publishing her first book, and her eventual move to where she is today at Cambridge. Dr Zarakol also shares how she approaches writing, her research, exercising with weight training and boxing, and what she thinks will be the lasting impact of the pandemic on International Relations going forward.

Previous Episode

Cameron Thies

Brent interviews Professor Cameron Thies of Arizona State University and the current President of the International Studies Association. Cameron talks about growing up in Nebraska, how the farm crisis along with world events got him interested in politics, almost taking a job globetrotting with Arthur Anderson, the helpful advice of his professors at the University of Nebraska during his Master’s, getting his PhD at ASU and the breadth of courses and professors there, working with Steve Walker, getting a job late in the cycle at LSU, his time at Missouri, Iowa, and then back to ASU, his approach to administration, being chosen as the President of the ISA, how he approaches writing (including waking up in the middle of the night and emailing himself), and more!

Next Episode

Halvard Leira

Halvard Leira is Research Professor at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (aka 'NUPI') in Oslo. Professor Leira and Brent have been friends for some time. He chats with Brent about growing up in Norway in a family of academics, his 'devouring' of history, his graduate work at LSE and the University of Oslo, his joining NUPI and meeting the cohort of elite NUPI scholars he's become good friends with since. He tells the stories behind his publications, how he and a few others were able to get a Historical IR section of the ISA going, how he approaches writing, his role as a dad, and how he decompresses via walking and weight-lifting. They conclude their discussion with thoughts on how the pandemic might change the study, and the field, of International Relations.