Teaching Philosophy and Interests

My approach to teaching political theory emphasizes the relationship between philosophical ideas, the political context from which they emerge, and their broader relation to the study of political science. For instance, in teaching Han Fei's political thought in UCLA’s "Introduction to Political Theory" course, I have students read Five Vermin alongside several conference speeches and letters written by Mao Zedong, supplemented with interdisciplinary empirical literature on political leadership and accountability in contemporary China. I am deeply committed to diversifying the contemporary political theory curriculum by integrating more non-European texts and authors, as when I helped design one of the most popular introductory courses for political theory at UCLA by suggesting the inclusion of texts from East Asian traditions. I consistently bring perspectives from non-European contexts into my discussion sections, and I have had success bringing contemporary Chinese thinkers into conversations with many Western democratic theorists on questions of political representation and democratic control.

I am prepared to teach a wide range of courses on classical, early modern, and modern political thought, as well as in research methods. In my syllabi, I plan to draw on thinkers from Africa, Latin America, the Islamic world, and Asia. I would also be eager to develop new thematic courses, such as “Introduction to Chinese Political Thought” and “Democracy and Its Challenges.” These courses would appeal to students from diverse methodological backgrounds by working between the history of political thought, contemporary political philosophy, comparative politics, East Asian studies, and legal studies. I am especially interested in teaching specialized seminars in my research area of comparative political theory. I envision offering seminars like “The Concept of the State in East Asian Political Thought” or “Democratic Theory from a Comparative Perspective,” which would focus on the writings such as Liang Qichao, Mou Zongsan, Fukuzawa Yūkichi, Mahatma Gandhi, Frederick Douglass, and Al-Ghazali.

Teaching Experience

Primary Instructor
"Introduction to Political Theory" (Summer 2025, UCLA)

Teaching Fellow
"Introduction to Political Theory" (Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024, UCLA)
"National Institutions: The Presidency" (Winter 2023, Fall 2023, UCLA)
"Continental Political Thought" (Fall 2024, UCLA)
"Late Modern Political Theory" (Winter 2025, UCLA)

• Experience teaching non-Western political thought and diversifying the political theory curriculum by integrating East Asian political thinkers alongside Western thinkers.

Reader
"Pre-Modern East Asian Political Thought" (Fall 2021, UCLA)
"Modern East Asian Political Thought" (Spring 2022, UCLA) 

Two Course Samples

Course 1. Introduction to Chinese Political Thought

Course Description

This course introduces students to Chinese political thought and political theory from pre-modern to contemporary times. Core problems addressed include legitimacy, virtue, leadership, violence, and action. Students will be exposed to a wide range of Chinese perspectives and traditions from Confucian, Legalist, and Daoist thought to selected thinkers from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when Western ideas were intensely received and transformed within the Chinese context. The course concludes with a contemporary debate on Confucian democracy. Texts will be read in English translation and discussed with an eye to fostering a deeper understanding of interactions between Eastern and Western political ideologies. The course is also designed to help students read, discuss, and write political theory more broadly and to hone their ability to engage in clear analysis and careful argument. No previous knowledge of Chinese philosophy is required.

Sample Reading List  

• Cui, Zhiyuan. "Liberal Socialism and the Future of China: A Petty Bourgeoisie Manifesto." In The Chinese Model of Modern Development, edited by Tianyu Zheng and Chuanqi Tu, 169-186. London: Routledge, 2005.

• de Bary, Wm. Theodore, and Richard Lufrano, eds. Sources of Chinese Tradition. Vol. 2: From 1600 Through the Twentieth Century. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001. (Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao).

• Ivanhoe, Philip J., and Bryan W. Van Norden, eds. Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy. 2nd ed. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company, 2005. (Readings from Confucius, Mencius, Xun Zi, Zhuang Zi, and Lao Zi).

• Katō, Bunnō. The Threefold Lotus Sutra: Innumerable Meanings, the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law, and Meditation on the Bodhisattva Universal Virtue. Tokyo: Kosei Publishing, 1987. (Chs. 1, 2, 3, and 10).

• Rahula, Walpola. What the Buddha Taught. New York: Grove Press, 2007. (pp. 1-75).

• Tiwald, Justin, and Bryan W. Van Norden, eds. Readings in Later Chinese Philosophy. (Zhu Xi, Mou Zongsan).

• Wang, Hui. The Rise of Modern Chinese Thought. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2023. (Selected passages on the concept of Li and Tianming).

• Watson, Burton. Han Feizi: Basic Writings. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003. (pp. 16-42, 73-79, 97-117).

Course 2. Democratic Theory from a Comparative Perspective

Course Description

This course explores how non-Western political thought can contribute to a better understanding of what democracy is and what it might be. It juxtaposes works of Western democratic theory with influential writings from thinkers such as Mou Zongsan, Fukuzawa Yūkichi, Mahatma Gandhi, and Al-Ghazali. In doing so, this course will expose students to key debates in the history of democratic thought and contemporary works in democratic theory, paying particular attention to the ontological and epistemological assumptions that undergird various situated democratic perspectives. The course seeks to equip students with theoretical tools to better understand democracy’s current condition, its relationship to globalization, and its possible futures. In the final four weeks, it will focus on themes of populism and authoritarianism and explore ways of thinking about democratic innovations based on non-Western conceptions of democracy that look beyond the context of the territorially bounded state.

Sample Reading List

• Bell, Daniel A., and Chenyang Li, eds. The East Asian Challenge for Democracy: Political Meritocracy in Comparative Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.

• Dahl, Robert A. A Preface to Democratic Theory. Expanded edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006.

• Fukuzawa, Yukichi. An Encouragement of Learning. Translated by David A. Dilworth. New York: Columbia University Press, 2012.

• Gandhi, Mahatma. ‘Hind Swaraj’ and Other Writings. Edited by Anthony Parel. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.

• Habermas, Jürgen. "Three Normative Models of Democracy." Constellations 1, no. 1 (1994): 1-10.

• Kim, Sungmoon. Democracy After Virtue: Toward Pragmatic Confucian Democracy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018.

• Mao, Zedong. "On New Democracy." In Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung, vol. 2, 1965-1977. 1940.

• March, Andrew F. The Caliphate of Man: Popular Sovereignty in Modern Islamic Thought. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2019.

• Mou, Zongsan. Authority and Government. Taipei: Student Publishing, 2010.

• Roberts, Neil. Freedom as Marronage. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2015.

• Urbinati, Nadia. Me, the People: How Populism Transforms Democracy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2019.

• Williams, Melissa S., and Mark E. Warren. "A Democratic Case for Comparative Political Theory." Political Theory 42, no. 1 (2014): 26-57.

Selected Evaluations

My teaching evaluations attest to my success in - and continuing pursuit of - being an effective instructor. Full course evaluations are available upon request. Students have written:

1. "[Qi] was incredibly knowledgeable about the material…and encouraged us to scope beyond what we learned in class. We had many group discussions that allowed us to actually theorize with our fellow peers, and I felt that I was learning more and more each day. Overall, incredible discussion section and great fluidity of it as well."

2. "I really enjoyed being in Qi's discussion section. He was very friendly, kind, and approachable. He was a fair grader and always gave us feedback for how to improve on our work."

3. "[Qi] was always super helpful and sections were structured with thoughtful questions to consider that directly correlated to the in-class materials and homework readings. I thoroughly enjoyed all feedback and was often challenged in my thoughts which allowed me to grow within this course."

4. "A fantastic TA, really encouraged student engagement and used respectful debate to strengthen their arguments. Very much expanded on and clarified the course material during his sections, and was engaged in helping students."

5. "Mr. Jing was an amazing TA who was extremely knowledgeable about the subject in general. I always felt like our discussions really added a different perspective to the lecture that week, and he was able to ask such quote-on-quote 'academically stimulating' questions for the debate. The 50 minutes really did fly by, and even though discussion wasn't mandatory, I really did try my best to attend every single week because of how much I enjoyed being able to learn more about the topic we learned that week from him and my peers. 10/10 experience!!! :)"

6. "Qi was so thoughtful and engaging, you can clearly see his passion for political science. He challenges his students and forces them to really think about their argument. I actually felt like I was improving during his discussions. Qi is also so nice and approachable, I was never too scared to ask questions or go up to him."

7. "[Qi] was always so approachable and his sections were so wonderful. I learned so much and he was willing to go above and beyond for his students. He had a lot of knowledge about the course and made us really think about the content. One of the best TAs I have ever had!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

8. "Qi has been my favorite TA here at UCLA! He truly cares about his students and puts in so much effort to ensure they understand the material and are doing well in the class! His sections are some of the best I have attended, as the information he tells us is not information you can find online; rather, it is information that is so valuable as it is not just something you can look up. He also challenged our thinking in a way that allowed for much growth. Also, Qi is so brilliant and cares so much about all of his students! I loved Qi and could not have asked for a better quarter and section leader! Thank you so much for all you do, Qi!"

9. "[Qi] was as knowledgeable as the professor over the course material making it easy to ask questions over confusing parts of the lecture. He was also understanding of the anxieties of public discussions for some students and did his best to make the environment as comfortable as possible. He never fails to stop and makes us think about our answers in discussions to test our knowledge and build on what we already know."