Teaching
I teach students to be engaged and critical thinkers, armed with the abilities to adjudicate between competing perspectives and to effectively communicate their own arguments. I believe it is imperative to witness political science in action through conversations with practitioners on the frontlines, documentary films, and experiential learning. I am also committed to building inclusive learning communities both inside and beyond the classroom.
I teach courses in Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Global Studies. At Williams most of my courses are designated as Difference, Power, and Equity (DPE) classes; I also teach seminars focused on improving writing skills (WS). Additionally I am a proud member of the multi-university Democratic Erosion consortium, connecting my students with other classes throughout the country and around the world.
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Through numerous actions everyday, some overt and some nearly imperceptible, Prof. Wellman fosters a superior classroom environment. The space is at once academically rigorous and capable of giving room to students to take risks...she pushes each student to rise to their own capabilities (and maybe a little beyond).
Prof. Wellman presents her students with a creative syllabus, isn’t afraid to tweak her learning style to reflect the class dynamics, is generous with her time (both in class and during student hours), offers great feedback, sets clear expectations, utilizes organized class lectures, and is just generally very respectful and relatable. She is the reason I’m being a political science major, and I hope I can take at least one more class with her.
I am a math and economics major, but of all the courses I have taken here so far, I genuinely think this political science course has contributed the most to my Williams education.