Teaching

I have taught at four universities in the U.S. and Argentina—Wofford College, Brown University, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, and Universidad de San Andrés—serving as instructor of record for 6 courses (10 by the end of the academic year) and leading 38 discussion sections for 19 additional courses.

Instructor of Record

Foundations of World Politics (x3)
In person, undergraduate-level credit course.
Wofford College, 2025

I am currently teaching three sections of Foundations of World Politics, an introductory course in International Relations. The course equips students with core theoretical tools to interpret world events and build a foundation for future work in political science.

Political Regimes: Accessing and Exercising Power
In-person, pre-college level course.
Brown University, 2023

This pre-college seminar gave 15 students an immersive college experience, exploring democracy, authoritarianism, totalitarianism, hybrid regimes, and democratic erosion.

Introduction to Comparative Politics (with E. Rios)
Online, undergraduate-level credit course.
Brown University, 2021

Foundational course on comparative politics, covering topics such as state formation and capacity, economic development, political regimes, political parties and electoral systems, welfare and redistribution, political violence, and more.

Qualitative Methods for Public Policy Evaluation
Online, graduate-level credit course.
Government School, Universidad Torcuato Di Tella (Argentina), 2021

This course introduced students to the design and application of qualitative methods—including case studies, small-N comparisons, process tracing, interviews, and ethnographic fieldwork—for rigorously evaluating the impact of public policies.

Awards

P. Terrence Hopmann Award for Excellence in Teaching. Department of Political Science

Brown University, 2023

`• Awarded for leading discussion sections in Introduction to Comparative Politics, where 94% of students rated my teaching as “excellent,” the highest possible category.

Sheridan Teaching Award. Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning

Brown University, 2023

• Awarded for facilitating a workshop in which graduate students, postdocs, and faculty explored inclusive teaching strategies.

Pedagogical Training

Democratic Erosion Consortium, 2024-2025

In this role, I design comprehensive course materials—syllabi, lecture slides, reading summaries, in-class interactive activities, and home-taken assignments—to standardize a course on democratic erosion for academics, practitioners, and policymakers.

Brown University, 2020

Completed training focused on inclusive teaching strategies to ensure supportive learning experiences for students from diverse socioeconomic, racial, and cultural backgrounds.

Completed training focused on designing course syllabi that incorporate experiential learning, clear learning objectives, and inclusive selection of authors and assignments.

Brown University, 2023

Completed training to deepen knowledge of evidence-based inclusive teaching practices and develop skills in workshop facilitation, online teaching, and delivering constructive feedback.

Teaching Assistant

  • Introduction to Comparative Politics. Brown University, 2020, 2023, 2024, and 2025.
  • Crime, Punishment, and Politics. Brown University, 2024.
  • Security, Governance, and Development in Africa. Brown University, 2023.
  • Introduction to International Relations. Brown University. Brown University, 2019 and 2021.
  • Law and Society. Universidad Torcuato Di Tella (Argentina), 2017 and 2018.
  • Political and Governmental Institutions. Universidad Torcuato Di Tella (Argentina), 2016, 2017, and 2018.
  • Methodology and Research Design. Universidad Torcuato Di Tella (Argentina), 2016
  • Latin American Politics and Society. Universidad Torcuato Di Tella (Argentina), 2015 and 2016.
  • The Political Phenomenon Universidad de San Andrés (Argentina), 2014 and 2015.
You can contact me at tacconen@wofford.edu for requesting lecture slides, low-and high-stakes assignments, class recordings, and/or course evaluations.