Teaching and Mentorship

PhD Mentorship & Advising

Dr. Oliveira welcomes new applicants for the Global Studies PhD program in any area related to his research. Please include your CV and a brief account of our personal history and research proposal with your email inquiry.

Click here for more information on admissions to the PhD program in Global Studies.

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Mentorship & Advising

Dr. Oliveira welcomes inquiries about mentorship for the undergraduate honors program in Global and International Studies. Please send an email to introduce yourself and set up an appointment for office hours.

Click here for more information on the International Studies Honors Program.

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Courses taught at the University of California, Irvine

Global Political Economy.

International Studies 15 / Social Sciences 15.

Global economy and global politics are intertwined. This course traces the shifts in economic thought and practice from mercantilism and colonialism in the 1700s, through the consolidation of capitalism and imperialism during the 1800s, to the development of liberalismsocialismfascismKeynesianism, and neoliberalism along the 1900s. We examine themes of international trade and development, class struggle and financial crises, transnational corporations and the so-called “Washington Consensus” after the Cold War. Then, we focus on the crisis of neoliberalism in the 2000s, including the global financial meltdown of 2008, the resurgence of far-right populism, authoritarianism, and revanchist nationalism, and the political-economic foundations and consequences of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Ultimately, the goal of this course is for students to learn the historical and theoretical foundations of global political economy in order to better comprehend and engage with the worldwide crisis that defines our generation.

No restrictions for enrollment.

 

Global Political Ecology.

International Studies 106A.

This upper-division course begins with an introduction to political ecology as our theoretical framework, and a critical analysis of the interconnections called “global” in scale or associated with “globalization”. We investigate the relations between climate change and human history across multiple turning-points: from the end of the last Ice Age and the creation of agriculture (c. 10,000 years ago), through the origins of capitalism and “modernity” (c. 1500s), to the fossil-fuel-driven Industrial Revolution (c. 1850s). This most recent period is studied in depth through critiques of competing frameworks focused on population, modernization, markets, and institutional governance (focusing especially on a critique of neo-Malthusianism and eco-modernization), and examining environmental problems like deforestation, waste, depletion of fisheries, and pesticide intoxication. Then, we turn to a critical examination of fossil fuels and electric cars in an age of climate change, and agrarian change and environmental management in an age of pandemics. Finally, we discuss pressing contemporary challenges revolving around wars, revolutions, and refugees in an age of climate change.

Restriction: Global and International Studies Majors have first consideration for enrollment. Global and International Studies Minors have first consideration for enrollment.

 

Globalizing Social Theory.

International Studies 203.

This graduate seminar examines important developments in social theory between 1914 and 1991, focusing on major texts that critique, extend, transform, de-center, and transcend the Eurocentric cannon of critical social theory. The overarching goal is to synthesize from these various approaches a critical and transdisciplinary theoretical framework to analyze complex global issues.

Restriction: Graduate students only.

 

Course taught at the University of California, Berkeley

Global Political Ecology.

Geography 138 (Summer 2016)

 

Courses taught at Swarthmore College

Brazil, China, and the Global Food Environment.

Environmental Studies 032, Sociology/Anthropology 60C (Fall 2017)

Capstone Seminar: Political Ecology.

Environmental Studies 91 (Spring 2018)

 

Course taught at the Northwest Agricultural and Forestry University (China)

Food, Development, and the Environment.

Advanced Social Science Seminar (Fall 2016)