Faculty Q & A with Cari Coe

Cari Coe, Assistant Professor of International Affairs

Education
PhD 2008 University of California, Los Angeles; MA 2002, University of California, San Diego; BA 1998 University of Oregon

Dissertation
A Tragedy, but No Commons: The Failure of “Community-based” Forestry in the Buffer Zone of Tam Dao National Park, Vietnam, and the Role of Household Property Rights and Bureaucratic Conflict

Research and Teaching Interests
Southeast Asia, post-socialist economic transition-Vietnam, comparative politics, political economy of development, environmental politics, research methods

What most excites you about joining the LC community?
I am excited to join the LC community because I find the students here to be inquisitive about the world and interested in actively engaging themselves in it. I am also looking forward to being at a small college where everyone can get to know each other.

What kinds of hobbies/special activities do you enjoy outside of work?
I have a 1974 Honda Trail 90 that I try (often unsuccessfully) to keep running. I’m learning a lot about motorcycle mechanics and the ‘zen’ lessons that accompany that! I also like to dance… I do tango, swing, salsa, most partner dances.

What were your childhood goals/aspirations?
When I was a child, I asked my mom what I could study in order to learn about other cultures. She told me anthropology and that is what I studied as an undergraduate. I later got into political science, but maintained my interest in other cultures by studying comparative politics and, in particular, Vietnam.

What are you listening to in your car right now?
Bob Dylan, The National, Nina Simone.

What was your favorite childhood story?
I loved Roald Dahl, and still do - James and the Giant Peach was my favorite.