Political Science

Professor Pham is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Gettysburg College. He specializes in political theory and international relations. He offers courses that engage these fields from diverse (dominant and marginalized, Western and non-Western) perspectives.

His publications appear in The Review of Politics, Polity, The European Legacy, Montaigne Studies, Ethics and International Affairs, and Contemporary Political Theory. These works explore the history of political thought, and theories of identity, freedom, skepticism, colonization, war, and democracy through cross-cultural analysis that complicates and enhances the way we understand the canon of political theory. His current research examines how Vietnamese thinkers of the early twentieth century adapted Asian and European political theories for their aims of self-determination from French colonial rule.

Professor Pham’s teaching philosophy combines multi-methods and interdisciplinarity to engage students from diverse backgrounds. Students will explore texts and trends that span impactful historical moments to ethical dimensions of pressing contemporary international issues from a range of cultural and ideological perspectives. Special attention to how such perspectives are informed by hegemony, marginalization, historical memory, and future hopes positions his classes as learning experiences that challenge student assumptions and provide the tools to advance cultural competence and globalized leadership skills. 

He currently teaches a course that introduces students to political theory (from a global perspective) and a course titled "The Vietnam War and Political Theory."