Patrick Thaddeus Jackson is Professor of International Studies and Associate Dean for Curriculum and Learning in the School of International Service at American University in Washington, DC. In addition to his work in the philosophy of science and the politics of national and transnational identity, he has written on Star Trek, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and the novels of Iain M. Banks. In 2012 he was named U.S. Professor of the Year for the District of Columbia by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.