I am Evan Prellberg, a Ph.D. candidate in Political Theory at the University of California, Riverside (UCR). My dissertation examines a case where advocates of a strong public education are in conflict with advocates of multicultural citizenship, and I argue this case requires us to ask new questions about justice and its interactions with democratic politics. I research public education, identity and citizenship, public reason, and the politics of generally applicable rules.

In addition to my research interests, I have taught political science and composition for a total of six years: three years for each subject matter. My experience in composition includes one and a half years of teaching freshman composition and one and a half years of teaching interdisciplinary writing, which includes two STEM writing courses. Presently, I am the Teaching Fellow for UCR’s Writing Across the Curriculum program and the Graduate Student Intern for the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program (MMUF).

This website contains more information about my work in all these areas, and you can contact me at evan.prellberg@gmail.com.

Dissertation & Research

My dissertation, Clear Wrong but Unclear Wronged: The Case of East Ramapo, examines a local school board district that has been the site of a contentious political and legal battle for over a decade. On one side of the battle, a minority culture seeks to protect its way of life, and on the other side, a group of families seek to maximize the quality of the public education so their children can experience a broad array of opportunities.

The case involves a clear wrong because the arguments have transpired in a manner that has left everyone unhappy, and few would even consider the arguments to be civil. However, we cannot identify a wronged party because all involved have reasonable concerns and interests. How should political theory respond to this situation? My dissertation takes this case and examines it abstractly. How should we respond to the clash of these principles of justice? There is not a clear answer to that question, but I have found several interesting new questions that might guide these types of conflicts.

Areas of Interest

  • Liberalism and its critiques
  • Public Reason
  • Public Education
  • Identity and Citizenship
  • Politics of Generally Applicable Rules

Teaching Experience

Through six years, my teaching experience can be broken up into four categories: Political Science Teaching Assistant, Political Science instructor, Composition Teaching Assistant/Instructor, Interdisciplinary Composition Teaching Assistant. For three years, I was a teaching assistant in a variety of political theory courses. These courses ranged in topic from the canon, to Enlightenment thought, and 20th century democratic theory. I have been the instructor of record for courses on models of democracy, Enlightenment thought, the liberalism-communitarian debate, and human rights.

I have spent the last three years teaching in UCR’s University Writing Program. I spent one and a half years teaching freshman composition. For the past year and a half, I have been a Teaching Assistant, and Teaching Fellow (see below), with Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) courses. These courses embed writing instruction in various departments. These courses blend substantive writing instruction with the core curriculum of the departments WAC collaborates with. I have been the WAC Teaching Assistant in courses in the social sciences, humanities, and STEM.

Courses Taught

Political Science TA

  • Political Ideologies
  • Introduction to Political Theory
  • Modern Political Theory
  • Democracy and the Social Contract

Political Science Associate-In

  • Political Ideologies
  • Modern Political Theory
  • Human Rights in Theory, Law, and Politics

Writing Composition

  • Beginning Composition
  • Intermediate Composition

WAC

  • Political Ideologies
  • The Historian's Workshop
  • Advanced Physics Laboratory
  • Technical Communications and Documentation (Engineering Course)

Service & Administrative

During my time as a graduate student, I have served in three main service and administrative roles. First, during the summer of 2017, I was one part of a committee of six that designed ENGL007. We achieved our two programmatic goals: create a course structure that increases WAC instruction time and create new pedagogical tools for future WAC instructors.

During the 2017-2018 academic year, I have been both the Teaching Fellow for WAC and the Graduate Student Intern for UCR’s Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship. As Teaching Fellow, I am responsible for managing WAC’s data and its writing workshops. I ensure that all WAC TAs upload their assignments, attendance, and any other relevant documents. I also create the workshop schedule for all WAC courses.

The Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) is a prestigious national fellowship that seeks to increase diversity in the academic ranks by channeling promising undergrads with traditionally underrepresented voices through the Ph.D. career track. UCR is one of approximately 50 member programs, and during this year, I have interned with UCR’s chapter of the fellowship.