Faculty Profile
Rachel Jacobs
(she/her/hers)Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Studies (2019)
Contact Information
Denny Hall Room 07
717-245-1023
http://www.rachelpjacobs.com
Bio
Professor Jacobs' research and teaching interests are in international relations and comparative politics, with a regional focus in Southeast Asia. She teaches courses on international relations, human rights, political violence, and Southeast Asian politics. Her current book project centers around strategies of survival during mass violence, focusing on the Cambodian genocide. More broadly, her research addresses questions of mass atrocity, sexual and gender-based violence, and the long-term consequences of conflict.
Education
- B.A., Cornell University, 2010
- M.A., University of Chicago, 2011
- M.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2013
- Ph.D., 2019
2025-2026 Academic Year
Fall 2025
INST 170 International Relations
Cross-listed with POSC 170-02.
POSC 170 International Relations
Cross-listed with INST 170-02.
POSC 390 Political Violence
Permission of instructor required. This seminar is intended to improve critical thinking and analytical writing skills through the study of intra-state violence. The course will focus on the types of political violence, causes of intra-state conflict, and the reasons individuals participate in violence. The topics will focus primarily on civil war, ethnic conflict and genocide, terrorism, and revolution. The course will also emphasize the research process and the ethics (and ethical dilemmas) of conflict research. The discussions will be guided by three overarching questions: how do structural conditions shape the likelihood of political violence? What are the individual or social factors that contribute to an individual's decision to participate in violence? Why are certain strategies or types of violence used? These questions will be addressed through the readings, seminar discussions, and student research on a case of their choosing. By the end of the seminar, students should be able to ask informed questions and have the social science skills to answer those questions well. There is a heavy emphasis on writing in the course that is designed to improve students' writing and research skills, as well as learning to give constructive feedback.