Professors
Alfred P. Montero is Professor and Chair of Political Science at Carleton College. He is also the associate editor of Latin American Politics and Society, a leading journal in its field. Professor Montero’s current research programs include the study of the quality of subnational democracy in Brazil, the determinants of foreign investment flows in Latin America, and the political economy of the Spanish regional autonomy system in comparative perspective. His research has been published in Comparative Politics, Latin American Research Review, West European Politics, Journal of Politics in Latin America, Latin American Politics and Society, Studies in Comparative International Development, and Publius: The Journal of Federalism. He is the author of Shifting States in Global Markets: Subnational Industrial Policy in Contemporary Brazil and Spain (Penn State University Press, 2002), Brazilian Politics: Reforming a Democratic State in a Changing World (Polity Press, 2006), and co-editor with David J. Samuels of Decentralization and Democracy in Latin America (University of Notre Dame Press, 2004). Presently, Professor Montero is working on a book that explains the recent emergence of Brazil as one of the more significant large, developing economies in the world.
Julia Strand is Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology at Carleton College. Professor Strand received her bachelor's degree from Tufts University and received her M.A. and Ph. D. from Washington University in St. Louis. She teaches courses including Introduction to Psychology, the Psychology of Spoken Words, and Sensation & Perception. Her research focuses on how humans are able to turn what they hear into meaningful information (eg., speech & music). This includes how cognitive abilities influence language perception, how word recognition abilities change with age, and how visual information (seeing the talker) influences language processing.
Aaron Swoboda is an environmental economist who holds appointments in both the economics department and the environmental studies program at Carleton College. He teaches courses in microeconomics, environmental policy, cost-benefit analysis, and econometrics. His research spans such areas as housing, land-use regulation, spatial data analysis and particularly seeks to contribute to environmental policy-making decisions regarding land. When not teaching or researching, Professor Swoboda enjoys reading, cooking, hiking, and fly-fishing.
Ken Abrams (B.A., Dartmouth College; Ph.D., University of Minnesota) teaches courses in health psychology, psychopathology, and statistics, and a seminar on science and pseudoscience. His research program explores the co-occurrence of substance use and anxiety disorders. Currently, he is investigating whether nicotine withdrawal is associated with carbon-dioxide hypersensitivity and hence a higher risk for experiencing panic attacks. Other recent research of his has examined treatments for pathological gambling and the self-medication of social anxiety and panic attacks with alcohol.
