Teaching Philosophy

I believe that the classroom is a critical site for the preservation of democratic ideals and enlivening social justice projects aimed at addressing the root causes of inequity, violence, and human suffering throughout the world. I strive to create a classroom environment that is at once inviting, intellectually challenging and rigorous, and collegial. I position myself not merely as a content expert who disseminates concepts and ideas, but as a playful co-conspirator who makes abstract concepts accessible so that my students might actualize their own visions for a more just and joyous campus community. I want my classroom, lecture hall, and office to be sites of empowerment where students come to see themselves as astute dissectors of knowledge and agents of purposeful and lasting change both on campus and beyond.

Achieving these goals requires five constitutive elements: (1) treating students like competent and capable knowledge producers whose ideas merit being taken seriously; (2) offering an interdisciplinary curriculum that is anchored by peer-reviewed research; (3) offering assessments that task students with imagining the real world application and implications of abstract concepts; (4) treating the classroom like a crucible of ideas wherein students come to see and appreciate sociality of the writing and research processes; (5) and creating a responsive classroom that is flexible enough to respond to emerging community needs around issues of equity and justice.

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I want my students to see the vitality of the intersection of what they learn and how they lead their lives. Their obligation upon completing one of my courses extends well beyond final projects and the grades they might earn on them; this obligation is about their campus citizenship. Our mission is nothing but marketing if it is not enfleshed by our students. I take it as a moral and spiritual imperative to ensure my students leave my classes ready to usher forth a more just and compassionate future.

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