Contention in Global South; Graduate Seminar. Spring 2023. Boston College. [syllabus]
Reassessing Contentious Politics and Social Movements with Cases from the Middle East. Brown University: Spring 2017, & Fall 2018; Boston College Spring 2019, Spring 2020.
Social Movements and Collective Behavior. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Spring 2013. Fall 2014.
Sociological Theory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Summer 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2014, Summer 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016; Boston College: Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020.
Perspectives on Sociology. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Summer I 2015.
Political Sociology. Boston College: Fall 2018, Fall 2020.
Selected student comments:
Sociological Theory, SOCI250
Spring 2016
“I really enjoyed this class and found professor Kadivar to be very phenomenal at what he does. He is very articulate, very intelligent, and great teacher which is a skill few professors have. Many can teach but only a few can teach effectively.”
“The assignments due every class were too much. I think the professor should consider students' other classes. Professor very intimidating when students are late.”
Spring 2015
“This was my favorite general education class that I have taken at UNC. The material was extremely interesting and applicable to my life experiences. I was surprised by how illuminating course was; it made me consider and think about many aspects of my life and society I had never thought of before. This course definitely made me see the world differently and consider how other groups of people experience life. I enjoyed that we covered many topics and that most of them were related. I would recommend all of my friends to take this course.”
“This course was intellectually engaging. Ali was a good lecturer and challenged us to think about how the theories in the readings applied to examples in our own lives. ”
“I enjoyed that this class challenged students to think about the way that the theories we learned applied to the issues they were faced with everyday (i.e. current events, college social experiences, family experiences, etc.). I enjoyed that the course material didn't omit issues that may have been controversial and really encouraged productive discussion and critiques of these issues. ”
Spring 2014
“I learned A LOT”
“Wonderful course. Challenged me to think in new ways about important concepts”
“No complaints. He is a great teacher and is committed to helping students learn the course material.”
“Exam was way too hard.”
“This was a very well taught course. The teaching style was effective and the debates were the most interesting parts of the course.”
Fall 2012
“My favorite part of class were the sections on Feminism. I had learned a bit about Feminist theory in other classes, but the way you presented it was fresh and new. I loved the readings that you selected and I actually used them for a research paper that I had in another class. I LOVED that you shared the film "Miss Representation" with us, there was actually a moment in the film where I shed a few tears. I realized that the way I talk about myself and my body in front of my daughter could be damaging and I hadn't even thought of that before seeing this film. After watching that film, I went to the website and signed up to receive email updates from them, and I actually purchased two videos as Christmas gifts.”
Summer I 2012
“A lot of assignments but, overall worth it. Great lectures. A lot of the material was not clear until he explained it in class. He could write a book on examples to understanding this material”
Collective Behavior & Social Movements: SOCI411
Fall 2014
“This course has been very valuable for my understanding of social movements, political science, sociological concepts, and social behavior. I will certainly take what I have learned from this course beyond the classroom, and in fact the material encountered has already come up or is of value in other courses I am taking.”
Spring 2013
“I found this class to be very engaging, though sometimes the concepts were difficult to understand. Going over the readings in class always helped to make the concepts make more sense, and having us do the analysis was helpful to make us remember and understand the information.”
Perspectives to Sociology: SOCI101
Summer I 2015
“I didn't think I was going to like this class at all, but I was wrong. Ali structured this class very well, with a good mix of interesting topics such as mass incarceration, love, and privilege in elite schools, such that the class was engaging and relatable throughout. My only complaint is the amount of work required every night - maybe it was just because it was a summer class and so there was homework everyday, but the nightly readings and extensive notes required for them was a very taxing part of my week. I cannot deny that they were interesting and the class had a good flow of new material and discussion each day because of the readings, but it was a large time commitment. ”
“I really liked the way this course was set up. The different topics and books were relevant to today's society and always kept the class fresh and interesting. I always found myself eager to come to class and discuss the material. The online homework assessments were vital in helping me remember and understand the material. The workload was appropriate for the course.”
Reassessing Contentious Politics and Social Movements with a focus on the Middle East: INTL
Spring 2017
“This was the only seminar I've taken in my four years where I felt accountable to the reading and actively engaged at every point in the conversation. Weekly assignments were tough but impossible to blow off until the last minute and the way that the research paper was structured was very helpful, due in small chunks throughout the semester, something that helped me be very specific in my writing (each chunk had a set of questions to be answered) and I think this framework would be VERY helpful for underclassmen seminars.”
Reassessing Contentious Politics and Social Movements with Cases from the Middle East. Brown University: Spring 2017, & Fall 2018; Boston College Spring 2019, Spring 2020.
Social Movements and Collective Behavior. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Spring 2013. Fall 2014.
Sociological Theory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Summer 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2014, Summer 2014, Spring 2015, Spring 2016; Boston College: Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020.
Perspectives on Sociology. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Summer I 2015.
Political Sociology. Boston College: Fall 2018, Fall 2020.
Selected student comments:
Sociological Theory, SOCI250
Spring 2016
“I really enjoyed this class and found professor Kadivar to be very phenomenal at what he does. He is very articulate, very intelligent, and great teacher which is a skill few professors have. Many can teach but only a few can teach effectively.”
“The assignments due every class were too much. I think the professor should consider students' other classes. Professor very intimidating when students are late.”
Spring 2015
“This was my favorite general education class that I have taken at UNC. The material was extremely interesting and applicable to my life experiences. I was surprised by how illuminating course was; it made me consider and think about many aspects of my life and society I had never thought of before. This course definitely made me see the world differently and consider how other groups of people experience life. I enjoyed that we covered many topics and that most of them were related. I would recommend all of my friends to take this course.”
“This course was intellectually engaging. Ali was a good lecturer and challenged us to think about how the theories in the readings applied to examples in our own lives. ”
“I enjoyed that this class challenged students to think about the way that the theories we learned applied to the issues they were faced with everyday (i.e. current events, college social experiences, family experiences, etc.). I enjoyed that the course material didn't omit issues that may have been controversial and really encouraged productive discussion and critiques of these issues. ”
Spring 2014
“I learned A LOT”
“Wonderful course. Challenged me to think in new ways about important concepts”
“No complaints. He is a great teacher and is committed to helping students learn the course material.”
“Exam was way too hard.”
“This was a very well taught course. The teaching style was effective and the debates were the most interesting parts of the course.”
Fall 2012
“My favorite part of class were the sections on Feminism. I had learned a bit about Feminist theory in other classes, but the way you presented it was fresh and new. I loved the readings that you selected and I actually used them for a research paper that I had in another class. I LOVED that you shared the film "Miss Representation" with us, there was actually a moment in the film where I shed a few tears. I realized that the way I talk about myself and my body in front of my daughter could be damaging and I hadn't even thought of that before seeing this film. After watching that film, I went to the website and signed up to receive email updates from them, and I actually purchased two videos as Christmas gifts.”
Summer I 2012
“A lot of assignments but, overall worth it. Great lectures. A lot of the material was not clear until he explained it in class. He could write a book on examples to understanding this material”
Collective Behavior & Social Movements: SOCI411
Fall 2014
“This course has been very valuable for my understanding of social movements, political science, sociological concepts, and social behavior. I will certainly take what I have learned from this course beyond the classroom, and in fact the material encountered has already come up or is of value in other courses I am taking.”
Spring 2013
“I found this class to be very engaging, though sometimes the concepts were difficult to understand. Going over the readings in class always helped to make the concepts make more sense, and having us do the analysis was helpful to make us remember and understand the information.”
Perspectives to Sociology: SOCI101
Summer I 2015
“I didn't think I was going to like this class at all, but I was wrong. Ali structured this class very well, with a good mix of interesting topics such as mass incarceration, love, and privilege in elite schools, such that the class was engaging and relatable throughout. My only complaint is the amount of work required every night - maybe it was just because it was a summer class and so there was homework everyday, but the nightly readings and extensive notes required for them was a very taxing part of my week. I cannot deny that they were interesting and the class had a good flow of new material and discussion each day because of the readings, but it was a large time commitment. ”
“I really liked the way this course was set up. The different topics and books were relevant to today's society and always kept the class fresh and interesting. I always found myself eager to come to class and discuss the material. The online homework assessments were vital in helping me remember and understand the material. The workload was appropriate for the course.”
Reassessing Contentious Politics and Social Movements with a focus on the Middle East: INTL
Spring 2017
“This was the only seminar I've taken in my four years where I felt accountable to the reading and actively engaged at every point in the conversation. Weekly assignments were tough but impossible to blow off until the last minute and the way that the research paper was structured was very helpful, due in small chunks throughout the semester, something that helped me be very specific in my writing (each chunk had a set of questions to be answered) and I think this framework would be VERY helpful for underclassmen seminars.”