Past Masterclasses

Miss a class? Complete this form to access recordings of all our classes.

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Masterclass with Chris Blattman

Tuesday, March 14, 2023 | 9–10 AM (CDT)

Please join us for a Masterclass with Professor Chris Blattman. A faculty member in The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts, Blattman focuses on why some people and societies are poor, unequal and violent, and how to tackle these issues. His book, Why We Fight, was released by Viking Press in April 2022. Most people think war is easy and peace is hard. Blattman synthesizes decades of social science and policymakers' practical experiences to argue the opposite: War is hard and finding peace is easier than you think

Chris Blattman
Assistant Professor

In his day-to-day research, Blattman works with governments and civil society to design and test approaches to reduce violence and poverty. Some of his ongoing work investigates:

• How are street gangs and other criminal groups organized in Colombia? Working with the government and civil society, Blattman tests ways to reduce the power of gangs to govern and extort civilians.
• What causes street violence and shootings in cities ranging from Chicago to Monrovia? Can we predict what young men are likely to be violent and help them avoid this path? Blattman is studying how employment and cognitive behavior therapy programs can reduce killings.
• Why do hostile groups hold onto false beliefs about one another? From India to America, what are the psychological drivers of persistent prejudice?

Read Chris Blattman's full bio

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Masterclass with John Burrows

Wednesday, December 7, 2022 | 5–6 p.m. (CST)

Join this session to hear from senior lecturer John Burrows.

John Burrows Senior Lecturer

John Burrows is senior lecturer in leadership at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy and an associate fellow at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School. At the University of Chicago and Oxford, John teaches leadership, negotiations, strategy, decision-making, and organizational psychology to MPP, MBA, and MA students, and to senior executives in open enrollment and custom executive-education programs.

Read John Burrows' full bio

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Masterclass with David Chrisinger

Tuesday, September 28, 2021 | 4–5:15 p.m. (CDT)

In this session, David Chrisinger, Program Director of the Harris Writing Program, Lecturer, and author of Stories Are What Save Us, will host a short workshop on telling your story. This is an ideal event for students interested in learning more about the power of story telling, how to tell your personal story, and to help workshop ideas you may be considering for essays, motivational statements, or other prompts requiring you to share a personal narrative. 

David Chrisinger

Program Director, Harris Writing Program; Lecturer

David Chrisinger is the Associate Director in the Academic and Student Affairs office, where he leads the Harris Writing Program. In his role, David will work with faculty to develop and evaluate writing-focused assignments, assist students in improving their writing skills, and train and manage the Writing Program Teaching Assistants, among other duties. 

Read David Chrisinger's full bio

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Masterclass with Justin Marlowe

Wednesday, October 13, 2021 | 5:30–6:30 p.m. (CDT)

In this session, Justin Marlowe will share his insights on public finance.

Justin Marlowe

Research Professor

Dr. Justin Marlowe is a research professor at Harris Public Policy. He is an admitted expert witness in federal and state courts and has served on technical advisory bodies for the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, the Government Finance Officers Association, the National Academies of Science, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, several state and local governments, and many other public, private, and non-profit organizations. In this Masterclass, Dr. Marlowe will share his extensive expertise in the world of public finance, with emphasis on public capital markets, infrastructure finance, state and local budgeting, and financial disclosure.

Read Justin Marlowe's full bio

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Masterclass with James Robinson

Tuesday, November 9, 2021 | 4:30–5:30 p.m. (CST)

In this session, "The Self-Organizing Periphery" with Professor James Robinson, you will learn more about his research using data on the organization and behavior of Colombian paramilitary groups.

James Robinson

The Reverend Dr. Richard L. Pearson Professor of Global Conflict Studies; Institute Director, The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts

As Institute Director, James A. Robinson is guiding The Pearson Institute’s research agenda, engaging the international academic and practitioner community through The Pearson Global Forum, and setting the curriculum for the next generation of leaders and scholars.

Read James Robinson's full bio

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Masterclass with John Burrows

Thursday, December 2, 2021 | 5:30–6:30 p.m. (CST)

Join this session to learn more about leadership and negotiations, how these skills are important to your future career, and how your curriculum at Harris can help you develop or sharpen these skills.

John Burrows

Senior Lecturer

John Burrows is senior lecturer in leadership at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy and an associate fellow at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School. He also teaches healthcare leadership in a newly launched double masters degree program in health policy taught jointly by the University of Chicago and the London School of Economics & Political Science. Previously, he was an adjunct professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

Read John Burrows's full bio

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Masterclass with Paula Worthington

Wednesday, January 12, 2022 | 5–6 p.m. (CST)

Join this session with Paula Worthington on "Infrastructure in the Post-Pandemic 21st Century."

Paula Worthington
Senior Lecturer

Paula R. Worthington is a Senior Lecturer at the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, where she also serves as academic director of the School’s Policy Labs program and faculty lead on its MPP program. At Harris, Worthington teaches courses in state and local government and cost-benefit analysis and advises students completing applied projects for public and nonprofit sector clients.

Read Paula Worthington's full bio

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Masterclass with Thomas Coleman

Wednesday, February 23, 2022 | 5–6 p.m. (CST)

Join this session with Thomas Coleman on what students can expect to learn and what differentiates UChicago economics from other institutions. This session will focus on "Monetary Theory and Chicago Economics: How Milton Friedman and Anna Schwartz saved the world in 2008."

Thomas Coleman

Senior Lecturer

Thomas Coleman, PhD'84, is focused on teaching students about financial markets. In 2012 Coleman returned to the University of Chicago, first as Executive Director and Senior Advisor at the Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics and then in 2015 as lecturer at Harris. Prior to returning to the University of Chicago, Coleman worked in the finance industry for over twenty years, with considerable experience in trading, risk management, and quantitative modeling.

Read Thomas Coleman's full bio

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Masterclass with John Burrows and Caroline Johnson

Wednesday, March 9, 2022 |  5:30–6:30 p.m. (CST)

Join this session to learn more about leadership, how these skills are important to your future career, and how your curriculum at Harris can help you develop or sharpen these skills.

John Burrows

Senior Lecturer

John Burrows is senior lecturer in leadership at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy and an associate fellow at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School. At the University of Chicago and Oxford, John teaches leadership, negotiations, strategy, decision-making, and organizational psychology to MPP, MBA, and MA students, and to senior executives in open enrollment and custom executive-education programs.

Read John Burrows's full bio

Caroline Johnson

Lecturer

Caroline Johnson is a dynamic leader with expertise in social capital and soft skill development. Recently she made headlines as an author, publishing her memoir, Jet Girl: My Life in War, Peace, and the Cockpit of the Navy's Most Lethal Aircraft, the F/A-18 Super Hornet, in November 2019. Jet Girl was featured on the Today Show, Fox & Friends, MSNBC, and Fox Nation, and Caroline completed a 16 city national book tour as part of the launch. Caroline is presently a Lecturer at University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and is attending University of Chicago Booth School of Business Executive MBA program.

Read Caroline Johnson's full bio

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Masterclass with Austin Wright

Tuesday, May 3, 2022 | 5–6 p.m. (CDT)

In this session, Austin Wright will share research on the January 6, 2021 insurrection in Washington, D.C..

Austin Wright
Assistant Professor

Professor Wright is a faculty affiliate of The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts, the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project, and non-resident fellow of the Liechtenstein Institute. His research leverages microlevel data to study the political economy of conflict and crime in Afghanistan, Colombia, Indonesia, and Iraq. His work is supported by the National Science Foundation, Niehaus Center for Global Governance, The Asia Foundation, and World Bank.

Read Austin Wright's full bio

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Masterclass with Justin Marlowe

Register here

Tuesday, May 24, 2022 | 4:30–5:30 p.m. (CDT)

In this session, Justin Marlowe will share his insights on public finance.

Justin Marlowe
Research Professor

Dr. Justin Marlowe is a research professor at Harris Public Policy. He is an admitted expert witness in federal and state courts and has served on technical advisory bodies for the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, the Government Finance Officers Association, the National Academies of Science, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, several state and local governments, and many other public, private, and non-profit organizations. In this Masterclass, Dr. Marlowe will share his extensive expertise in the world of public finance, with emphasis on public capital markets, infrastructure finance, state and local budgeting, and financial disclosure.

Read Justin Marlowe's full bio

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Peter Ganong
Associate Professor

Ganong is an economist who studies the effect of public policies on people facing difficult financial circumstances. In his research on the foreclosure crisis, he found that most borrowers defaulted due to insufficient liquidity and that many foreclosures could have been averted through liquidity-focused modifications to mortgages. He also has found that unemployment benefits play a crucial role in sustaining the consumption of unemployed workers. In ongoing work, he is studying the effects of racial wealth inequality and the effects of high liquidity on the US economy.

Read Peter Ganong's full bio

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Masterclass with David Chrisinger

Thursday, September 8, 2022 | 8–9:30 a.m. (CDT)

Register for the Masterclass with David Chrisinger

In this session David Chrisinger, Writing Program Director, Lecturer, and author of Stories Are What Save Us, will host a short workshop on the "shapes of stories." Chrisinger argues that a single story shape, the "person-in-hole" story, is especially useful in policy communication, whether you're telling a story about yourself, your community, or your organization. This is an ideal event for students interested in learning more about the power of storytelling and to help workshop ideas you may be considering for essays, motivational statements, or other prompts requiring you to share your personal narrative. 

David Chrisinger
Program Director, Harris Writing Program; Lecturer

David Chrisinger is the Associate Director in the Academic and Student Affairs office, where he leads the Harris Writing Program. In his role, David will work with faculty to develop and evaluate writing-focused assignments, assist students in improving their writing skills, and train and manage the Writing Program Teaching Assistants, among other duties. 

Read David Chrisinger's full bio