Dr. Rea is a teacher by training and by heart. Prior to becoming a sociologist, he earned a Master of Arts in Teaching at Clark University and taught high school physics, math, and introductory science courses for four years. Students, be warned: Dr. Rea’s courses will force you to think deeply and broadly about the ideas covered, hopefully in unexpected ways. You can also count on grappling with critical questions of justice and equity – we cannot expect to understand public affairs or sociology without tackling these issues head-on.
Current Teaching at Brown
TBD
Prior Teaching at The Ohio State
Introduction to Public Affairs (online) (PUB AFRS 2110)
An introduction to public affairs with a strong foundation in political science and the core crafts of public affairs itself, including policy analysis, public management, program evaluation, and the role of non-profits. Required for undergraduate PA majors.
Sample syllabus from Fall 2022.
Public Service and Civic Engagement (PUB AFRS 2120)
An introduction to the politics and the praxis of political engagement and change-making in the 21st century, from voting to public protest. Required for undergraduate PA majors.
Sample syllabus from Fall 2021.
Governing the end of nature? Environmental policy in the Anthropocene (PUB AFRS 5350)
An upper-level undergraduate or beginning graduate course on environmental governance in an era when divisions between the “social” world of people and the “natural” world of nature are increasingly untenable.
Sample syllabus from Spring 2022.
Public Policy Formulation and Implementation (online) (PUB AFRS 6000)
An introduction to the core theories of public affairs for master’s and beginning doctoral students. Also provides an introduction to writing policy briefs, mapping policy fields, and developing program evaluation plans. Required for all PA master’s students.
Sample syllabus from Fall 2022.
Regulation: Power and Control in Economic Life (PUB AFRS 7535)
A graduate seminar offering an advanced sociological (but fundamentally interdisciplinary) introduction to the ways that economic activity is and can be controlled and managed in advanced industrialized economies, including the political and cultural origins and effects of those efforts.
Sample syllabus from Spring 2020.
For anyone contemplating the more systematic study of public policy and public affairs at Ohio State, it might be helpful to take a look at the full selection of the course offerings at the John Glenn College. It might also be useful to explore how those courses fit into our undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Prior Teaching at UCLA
Environmental Sociology (
A fast-paced upper-division elective designed to introduce students from the natural and social sciences to sociological approaches to understanding environmental problems. See my sample syllabus from Summer 2017.
Integrative Approaches to Human Biology and Society (
The intro course to UCLA’s Human Biology and Society major originally designed by Hannah Landecker and based in UCLA’s Insitute for Society and Genetics. See my sample syllabus from Summer 2017.