Preceptors

Burcu Pinar Alakoc is Associate Instructional Professor in the Committee on International Relations. She received her PhD in Political Science from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2014 specializing in International Relations and Comparative Politics. During the 2020-21 Academic Year, she was a Visiting Fellow at the Chicago Project on Security and Threats (CPOST) at the University of Chicago. Prior to joining CIR, Dr. Alakoc was an Associate Professor at Webster University in St. Louis. Her research interests are in the areas of international security, terrorism and migration studies. Her previous work on terrorism examines the relative effectiveness of different types of perpetrators of terrorist attacks, tactical effectiveness of suicide terrorism as a form of political violence, and whether the gender of a suicide bomber makes a difference in terms of lethality. Her research on migration examines how political discourse shapes attitudes toward refugees, and the relationship between threat perceptions and attitudes about refugee integration and citizenship. This work has appeared in Comparative Politics, Terrorism and Political Violence, International Journal of Conflict and Violence, Journal of Political Science Education, and Studies in Conflict and Terrorism. Currently she has several research projects underway. The first of these examines the effectiveness of violent and nonviolent counterterrorism strategies in reducing the threat of terrorism; the second is a comparative study of NGOs that prioritize the role of women and incorporate their efforts in the fight against radicalization and violent extremism; and the third is an experimental study about the effects of different types of perspective taking exercises on attitude formation. In CIR, Dr. Alakoc offers the core seminar on International Security and Order, as well as additional courses such as Political Violence and Terrorism and Politics of the Middle East. Dr. Alakoc holds a BA in International Relations from Bilkent University, an MA in Communication Studies from the University of Kansas, and an MA in Political Science from the University of Colorado Boulder. Her office is located in 291D, 1155 E 60th St. For more information, please visit her website.

Kara Ann Hooser is Assistant Instructional Professor in the Committee on International Relations. In 2023, she received her PhD in Political Science from the Ohio State University where she majored in International Relations and minored in Race, Ethnicity, and Gender Politics. She holds a BA (2014) from North Carolina State University, as well as an MA from St. Mary's University (San Antonio) in International Relations with concentrations in Security Policy and Conflict Transformation and Peace Studies. In 2019, she also earned an MA in Political Science at the Ohio State University. Kara's research is motivated by an interest in re-peopling the study of international security and by the possibilities for transformation that grow from taking peace and the theorizing of peace as seriously as political science has taken war. She specializes in the areas of feminist peace studies, the Women, Peace, and Security agenda, and the intersections of postcolonialism, masculinities, and violence. Her most recent work uses interpretive methods to trace the stories of everyday people living in the aftermath of war and highlights the role of 'good guy' masculinities in perpetuating violence in post-conflict spaces. A key emphasis in her research has been to bridge the theory-to-practice divide. As a result, she frequently works alongside and co-authors work with peace practitioners in communities recovering from conflict, particularly focusing on Burundi and Northern Ireland. In CIR, Kara offers the core seminar on International Order and Security, as well as electives in Critical, Feminist and Postcolonial Approaches to Global Politics and Peace in International Relations. Dr. Hooser's office is located at 291C, 1155 E 60th St. For more information and to sign up for office hours, please visit her website. 

Adam Parker is Assistant Instructional Professor in the Committee on International Relations. He received his PhD in Political Science from Columbia University in 2023 where he specialized in international relations, comparative politics, and political economy. He also holds an MA in Global Policy Studies from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas (2013) and a BA in Political Science and Economics from Case Western Reserve University (2011). Dr. Parker's research investigates unions and automation in the context of the broader politics of globalization. His latest research explores how different labor unions have responded (and are responding) to the threat of automation in a globalized economy. Dr. Parker is an instructor for the International Political Economy core seminar in CIR. He also offers elective courses on "Labor and Globalization" and "The Political Economy of Technological Change." A native Midwesterner, he is also an avid gamer and a fan of the Chicago Bears. Dr. Parker's office is located at 291B, 1155 E 60th St. For more information, please visit his website.

Linnea Turco is Assistant Instructional Professor in the Committee on International Relations. She received her PhD in Political Science from the Ohio State University in 2021 where she specialized in international relations and political methodology. She holds a BA in International Affairs from the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University (2014). Dr. Turco's research is broadly motivated by an interest in international morality and a desire to understand how moral discourse shapes international politics. Her work uses text-as-data methods to investigate states' preferences and moral commitments vis-a-vis issues such as nuclear weapons and climate change. Dr. Turco is the primary instructor of the Global Governance, Rights and Norms core seminar in CIR. She also offers an elective course on international ethics and normative approaches to global politics. In her spare time, she enjoys playing tennis. Dr. Turco's office is located in 291E, 1155 E 60th St.. For more information, please visit her website.