Maria Boikova Struble

Assistant Professor of Politics and Government
B.A., Louisiana State University; M.A., Arizona State University; Ph.D., Lancaster University.

Email: mstruble@western.edu
Phone: (970) 943-3024
Office Location: Kelley Hall 204
Fall 09' Office Hours: Daily 2-3 pm, or by appointment

My mission at Western:  to nurture and support students as they struggle with difficult political questions; to encourage them to explore, be critical and ask questions of everything and everyone in the world; to support their creativity and make it possible for them to share it with others; to become a better instructor by learning to listen, reflect and communicate better with students; to challenge my students to think about questions such as human rights, refugees, migration and power from the positions of global citizens, not simply as passive observers; to strengthen the political science program by offering relative instruction, positive classroom environment and opportunities for field experience.

Teaching Schedule

Fall 2008

SOC 202 – Introduction to Sociological Theory
POLS 117 – Introduction to Political Ideologies (two sections)
POLS 309 – Ancient Political Theory
POLS 476 – American Political Thought II

Spring 2009

SOC 202 – Introduction to Sociological Theory
POLS 117 – Introduction to Political Ideologies (two sections)
POLS 260 – Introduction to World Politics
POLS 310 – Modern Political Theory

Fall 2009

POLS 117 – Introduction to Political Ideologies (two sections)
POLS 260 – Introduction to World Politics
POLS 360 – American Foreign Policy

Spring 2010

POLS 117 – Introduction to Political Ideologies (two sections)
POLS 255 – Introduction to Comparative Politics
POLS 397 – Environmental Politics

Research Interests

• Refugees, displacement and migration
• International human rights
• Testimony, language and bearing witness
• The sovereign state and globalization
• Environmental degradation and violence
• Critical theories of International Relations

About me

Background

-          Nationality: Bulgarian

-          I have lived and studied in Bulgaria, France, the United States and Great Britain

-          I speak Bulgarian, English, and French

-          Favorite cuisine: Indian

-          Favorite book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

-          Favorite authors: Milan Kundera, Anna Akhmatova, Paul Celan and Terry Pratchett

Personal interests

-          Mountaineering

-          Knitting

-          Gardening

-          Traveling

-          Poetry (writing)

-          Hiking