Mira Sucharov
Mira Sucharov is an associate professor of political science at Carleton University, specializing in psychological and identity approaches to international relations, Israeli-Palestinian relations and Diaspora Jewish politics.
At Carleton, she has developed courses on Israeli-Palestinian relations, political identity through graphic novels, and political opinion writing. Her teaching style and philosophy are anything but orthodox. Stripping her class of lectures and exams are just some of the ways her classes stand out from the others. Making the classroom a safe place is another thing Mira says she prides her pedagogical philosophy on.
Mira is also a proponent of bringing in curricular innovation into her classrooms, using experimental mediums – such as graphic novels, memoirs and opinion writing – to teach.
As a bastion of empowerment for her students and a passionate and innovative educator, Mira has certainly proven herself a more-than-worthy recipient of numerous teaching awards and honours. She has been recognized with a 2004 Carleton University Teaching Achievement Award, a 2011 Provost’s Fellowship in Teaching Award, and a 2015 Faculty of Public Affairs Award for Excellence in Teaching. Most recently, she was awarded a 2017 OCUFA Teaching Award, the highest honour that a university educator can receive in Ontario.
In 2019, Mira was appointed as an inaugural Carleton University Chair in Teaching Innovation. During the three-year appointment, she will develop two role-play course simulations that involve a direct analysis of the dynamics of power, privilege and oppression. The simulations will be incorporated into undergraduate courses on Israel and Palestine, and world politics.