What resonated most for me was their sense of imagination and their willingness to hold space for futures that do not yet have language. Ending the quarter with these reflections is always a gift, returning us to Cynthia Enloe's invitation to pause, wonder, and squint that the class is built around.

About the importance of reflexivity, of asking why we believe what we believe, and of finding the courage to sit with uncertainty. And about the power of personifying IR and making human lives visible in our research…

This quarter, students talked about becoming more attentive to the words we use and the worlds they make possible. About the need for more intersectional research and the value of looking again at something we thought we already understood...

We’ll explore how creativity transforms classrooms into spaces of curiosity, vulnerability, and discovery, and how it challenges the boundaries of what counts as political knowledge.

Come ready to listen, reflect, and maybe even create a little yourself :)

…we discussed our respective research on masculinities, justice, disarmament, and the WPS Agenda. It was an absolute pleasure to take part in this dialogue and to remind ourselves that, though it feels like much has been lost recently, progress is never linear and we continue making good trouble ♀️

If you're considering alternative, creative assessments, I can’t recommend it enough. You’ll be amazed by what your students create when given the trust and space to do so!

These projects have reminded me that critical thinking doesn’t need to be confined to the standard paper format. When we invite students to express their ideas through new pathways, we open the door to deeper learning, and to voices we might otherwise never hear.🧵

Submissions included poetry grounded in personal histories, multimedia art, original songs, and even a piano composition (performed by the student) layered over news clips from conflict zones. 🧵

Earlier in the course, students also had the option to replace traditional response papers with a creative response to academic readings. These weren’t just “alternative” formats. They were full of depth and intention, emotionally resonant, and rich with critical engagement. 🧵

The results? Powerful and deeply human submissions, including lived experience interviews, podcasts, blog series, professional-quality policy reports, interactive story maps, and stunning websites.🧵

For their final case studies on post-conflict peace, students were invited to choose any format that met the assignment’s objectives: assessing the current state of peace in a specific context and imagining interventions grounded in their analysis. 🧵