Levi Watts
PhD Student in Political Science
Levi Watts is a doctoral student in the Department of Political Science at Northeastern University, specializing in American politics. He has a strong background and interest in the American founding, its institutions, specifically the Courts and Congress, and structural, institutional, and behavioral explanations for disparity.
Levi grew up in a small town in southeast Idaho and made a stop off in Utah to play two years of college baseball, before relocating to Southern California to surf and become a baseball coach. Life had different plans and he obtained his BA and MA in Political Science from California State University Chico after an extended hiatus from his studies. Levi has been deeply involved with the wider community assisting others in a variety of ways such as helping the less fortunate, coaching young people, civil rights political activism, providing legal help, serving fellow grad students on the Council of Graduate Students, teaching and tutoring. This engagement has revealed many systematic disparities in society, an insight that inspired him to study political science and now motivates his doctoral study to analytically investigate the causes and consequences of this disparity. When not in the classroom Levi enjoys playing the guitar, listening to vinyl, and watching baseball with his Balinese cat, Ale.
Levi has a strong interest in the American founding and its institutions. Specifically, he is interested in the structural, institutional, and behavioral explanations for systemic disparities among groups and peoples. And tends to concentrate his efforts on the legislative and judicial branches. Levi is also extremely interested in Pedagogy and how students learn.
Before attending Northeastern, Levi was a lecturer in the department of Political Science and Criminal Justice at California State University Chico.
A.S. (College of Eastern Utah 2006)
B.A. (CSU Chico 2016)
M.A. (CSU Chico 2018)
Publications
Irish, Adam, and Levi Watts. “Can 100 Students Debate One Another? Adapting the Nuclear Proliferation Debate for a Large Lecture Class.” Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice 21, no. 10 (2021): 23-35.
Irish, Adam, Nicole Sherman, and Levi Watts. “Targaryen Thought Experiments: Do Science Fiction and Fantasy Examples Aid or Obfuscate Student Learning?.” International Studies Perspectives (2022).
Watts, Levi, Darin R. Haerle, Ryan Patten, and Matt Thomas. “Outcomes of the Second-Year Student Success Program: Student Perceptions and Persistence.” CRSDE Sourcebook. University of Oklahoma (2022).
Conferences Papers and Activities
2019: “Outcomes of the Second-Year Student Success Program: Student Perceptions and Persistence” (with Darin Haerle, Ryan Patten, and Matt Thomas) National Symposium on Student Retention.
2018: “Targaryen Thought Experiments: Do Science Fiction Examples Aid or Obfuscate Student Learning?” (with Adam Irish and Nicole Sherman) Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association.
2018: “Can 100 Students Debate One Another? Adapting the Nuclear Proliferation Debate to a Large Lecture Class” (with Adam Irish). Faculty Lunch Talk at CSU Chico.
2018: “The Role of 9: How the Supreme Court Influences Policy and Politics” Bi-annual Panel through the Council of Graduate Students at CSU Chico. Moderator/Event Organizer.
2017: “The Definition of Violence” Bi-annual Panel through the Council of Graduate Students at CSU Chico and the Community Legal Information Center. Facilitator/Event Organizer.
2016: “Technology and Its Impact: Technology in the 21st Century” Bi-annual Panel through the Council of Graduate Students at CSU Chico. Facilitator/Event Organizer.
2016: “Crime after Crime” film showing hosted by the Women’s Law Department at C.L.I.C. for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Event Organizer.
Contact info:
960A Renaissance Park
Office Hours: Tuesday and Friday from 12:00 – 1:30pm
watts.le@northeastern.edu