I currently live in California’s central coast, where I am an assistant professor at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. I’ve spent the last 15 years studying and teaching across the country. I learned to cross-country ski and barbecue brats while teaching at UW-Green Bay; in D.C. I mastered roundabouts and museum schedules while teaching at Georgetown; in Durham I learned the difference between tomato-, mustard- and vinegar-based barbecue while at Duke. Before that I earned my PhD in Government from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York (which is, in fact, gorges). I grew up in Oakland.

I care deeply about prison education and restorative justice, unionization and egalitarian approaches to teaching. I also like wordplay and dry humor.

While not studying political theory, I enjoy playing guitar, hiking, video game criticism, comedy podcasts, building computers, and learning more about beer and bourbon. I am also unironically a big fan of bird watching and birds in general. Now that I’ve upgraded to a mirrorless camera, I’m also working on the basics of nature photography (which often means photographing my cats). A few of my favorite shots are below.

You can reach me at nolan.d.bennett [at] gmail dot com.