"When education is not liberatory, the dream of the oppressed is to become the oppressor." --Paulo Freire
Teaching Philosophy
My experience and background in environmental studies, Latin American studies, global studies, as well as my work as an organizer and activist have influenced how I teach and construct my syllabi. I incorporate environmental studies into my syllabi and teaching, especially around environmental justice with both a domestic and global focus. In teaching, I relate seemingly intangible world historical events and processes to current local events, challenging myself and students to understand how our own lives both shape and are shaped by the world around us. Quantitative teaching evaluation averages and student comments demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach.
My main goal as a teacher is not to tell students what to think, but rather to expose them to new concepts, ideas, events, and ways of thinking previously unknown to them; in other words, to think critically. At the core of my teaching philosophy is the idea that students learn best through interactive learning, and I structure my teaching around this idea. Relatedly, I think that one of the most important parts of a college education is learning from peers, rather than being “told” information. I foster peer learning opportunities in my classroom through activities such as small group discussion, brainstorming, group activities comprised of four to five students each, “share and pair” writing exercises, and other strategies that require students to move around the room (or virtual room!), listen, share, and engage with each other. In teaching, I aim to incorporate thinking about power and agency (and in turn diversity, equity, representation, and inclusion) in every lesson by posing questions to students about the content they read and view: whose voices are represented in this reading? Whose voices are not? What are the implications of that? This approach also allows me to bring my research on social movements, intersections of race, class, gender, sex, geographic location, colonialism, imperialism, and decolonization into the classroom.
My main goal as a teacher is not to tell students what to think, but rather to expose them to new concepts, ideas, events, and ways of thinking previously unknown to them; in other words, to think critically. At the core of my teaching philosophy is the idea that students learn best through interactive learning, and I structure my teaching around this idea. Relatedly, I think that one of the most important parts of a college education is learning from peers, rather than being “told” information. I foster peer learning opportunities in my classroom through activities such as small group discussion, brainstorming, group activities comprised of four to five students each, “share and pair” writing exercises, and other strategies that require students to move around the room (or virtual room!), listen, share, and engage with each other. In teaching, I aim to incorporate thinking about power and agency (and in turn diversity, equity, representation, and inclusion) in every lesson by posing questions to students about the content they read and view: whose voices are represented in this reading? Whose voices are not? What are the implications of that? This approach also allows me to bring my research on social movements, intersections of race, class, gender, sex, geographic location, colonialism, imperialism, and decolonization into the classroom.
Recent Courses
Current courses, Fall 2024 at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte:
Other recently taught courses:
- Intro to Development and Sustainability Studies
- Environment and Societies
Other recently taught courses:
- Introduction to Development and Sustainability Studies (UNCC lower level undergraduate elective, Fall and Spring 2023/2024; Fall 2024)
- Global Environmental Justice: Varieties of Environmentalism (UNCC upper level undergraduate elective, Fall and Spring 2022/2023; Spring 2024)
- Environment and Societies (UNCC upper level undergraduate elective, Fall 2022; Fall 2023; Fall 2024)
- Qualitative Research Methods for students in the Masters in Design and Urban Ecologies (Invited Lecturer at the New School/parsons School of Design, three part intensive course over three weeks in February 2021)
- Societies (University of Pittsburgh, entry level and general education sociology course, Summer 2020, online course)
- Globalization (University of Pittsburgh, entry level and general education sociology course, Summer 2017)