Celise Schneider-Rickrode received her doctorate in 1997 with an area specialization in political theory, with special concentration on modernity and its critics. Her teaching and research interests include the political theories of Plato, Machiavelli, and Marx, and Contemporary Political Ideologies. In addition to Introduction to American National Government, she also teaches Introduction to Political Theory, Contemporary Political Ideologies, American Political Theory, and War in World Politics.