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.

Related Schools & Departments

Political Science

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
watts.le@northeastern.edu

Curriculum Vitae

More Student Paths

Charles T. Wallace-Thomas IV

Charles took "Sustainable Renewable Energy Development in the Global South" with Professor Shalanda Baker, which pushed him to further question systems as they exist, no matter their entrenched in society.
He did community service as part of the Ujima Global Leaders Program through the John D. O’Bryant African American Institute. He worked on the Timebank team, helping give back to local communities.
Charles split his time for his first co-op between the Center for Economic Democracy and the Boston Ujima Project, where he analyzed studies on community needs, including infrastructure and childcare.
He was one of the co-creators of the #BlackAtNU campaign and advocated for racial literacy courses and a restorative and transformative justice center on campus.
Charles made his own research project- a macroeconomic index to measure democratic participation in municipal economies, partnering with NU, the Columbus Foundation and the Center for Economic Democracy.
He worked at the Participatory Budgeting Project as a Program Associate, helping city systems and other organizations actively decide how to invest money across different spaces.
Charles graduated in 2022. ..

Casey Greenleaf

Casey took Global Markets and Local Cultures. After traveling, she better saw how the coursework mirrored real life, and knew her education was preparing her for the world.
She went on a DOC to Argentina and Uruguay, and become highly proficient while living in Buenos Aires and visiting the glaciers of the Patagonia region.
Casey completed her first co-op at the Museum of Fine Arts as a community arts program assistant. She gained valuable hands-on experience assisting in arts classes for local communities.
She joined the Sociology & Anthropology Student Association during her third year. It allowed her to get to know her fellow students and mirrored the small school experience she loved.
Casey studied abroad in Nepal for her capstone thesis. She lived alone for a month while she researched and wrote about the lived experience of climate change in the lower Himalayas.
She worked for the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative, founded by Professor Sarah Wylie. She produced promotional videos, developed a virtual research event, wrote event programming, and more.
Casey graduated in 2020. ..

Sunita Pfitzner

Sunita took Revolution, Civil War, and Insurrection, taught by Professor Risa Kitagawa. The course invited students to question the motives behind acts of violence against governments.
She traveled on a Dialogue of Civilizations to Jordan and Egypt; while there she grew interested in Middle East politics and the Arabic language.
Sunita worked at the Institute for Economics and Peace in Sydney, Australia, where she analyzed data on the corruption of police forces in Mexico.
Sunita was a member of the International Relations Council and traveled abroad with the club to compete in Model Arab League, Model NATO, and Model UN conferences.
Sunita conducted research with Berna Turam, developing a greater understanding of the Mediterranean migrant crisis. She also researched the feminist response to Covid-19 with Val Moghadam.
She graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2022.
..

Yasser Aponte

Yasser was in the Foundation Year program at Northeastern. The program was a rigorous deep dive into core subject classes that helped Yasser bridge the gap between his high school and college experiences.
He took Issues in Cities and Suburbs with Professor Erin Graves in Fall 2018. As someone deeply invested in urban life, he found the course was an enlightened look at the problems endemic to cities.
Yasser joined the Boston Beer Company as a Program Operations and Event Assistant for his first co-op. He worked on inventory, public relations, brewery events, and workspace organization.
He implemented community gardens all over Boston on deserted plots of land during his time as the Northeastern Campus Director for the campus’ United Nations Millennium Fellowship.
Yasser maintained a farm in Dorchester for The Food Project. He harvested crops, distributed produce through donations and food markets, and worked on overall logistics.
In 2020, Yasser won the Community Service Leadership award, given to students who show exemplary community engagement. He was recognized for his work at The Food Project, Northeastern Crossing, and more.
He graduated 2022 with his Bachelor’s in International Affairs and Religious Studies and his Master’s in Security and Resilience Studies, through Northeastern’s PlusOne program...