TEACHING
|
|
|
"Truth, like gold, is to be obtained not by its growth, but by washing away from it all that is not gold.”
~ Leo Tolstoy
~ Leo Tolstoy
Teaching Interests and Pedagogy
Teaching is my passion, and I view it as activist work. I seek to make the classroom a place to confront assumptions, dissect power, and hopefully help move thought based in ideologies to thought based in fact and analysis. In all courses I place an emphasis on the interactions between structure and agency or oppression and resistance as students tend to place too much weight on either seemingly insurmountable binding forces or the apparent super power of humans to overcome any and all adversity. By emphasizing both sides, I stress that society is an interplay between the individual and social structures, and in this manner, students can reconcile their actions (or lack thereof) with consequences for their society. I aim for classes to be a mix of lecture, discussion, group and individual projects, and to have an experiential learning component when possible.
The scholarship of teaching and learning is also an integral part of my research framework as much of my writing is on the pedagogy of race and ethnicity. My approach to teaching an introductory race and ethnicity course can be seen through the organization and features of my co-edited volume, with Milton Vickerman (University of Virginia), Race and Ethnicity (Cognella). The article "More Than a Knapsack: The White Supremacy Flower as a New Model for Teaching Racism" is already being employed in the classroom by many professors. The basis of this article can also be viewed through the related TEDx talk, "Understanding Our Roots: White Supremacy is More Than the KKK." In addition, my book Understanding Racism, systematically reviews and explains 13 major theories of racism, this book is valuable to undergraduate and graduate students as well as community activists and learning circles (published by SAGE).
Check out a recent article on using infographics in the classroom, featured in The Sociological Cinema blog and in the SSSP Teaching Social Problems Division newsletter. If you're looking for the appendix mentioned in this article, you can download it here.
Professional Pedagogy Positions
Founding Pedagogy Editor, Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
Race and Ethnicity Editor, TRAILS
Former Chair, SSSP Teaching Social Problems Division
Training & Awards
Most Promising New Textbook Award for Understanding Racism, Textbook and Academic Authors Association, 2022
Education Freedom Award, NAACP, Coastal Carolina University chapter, 2015
Liberal Arts and Sciences Small Teaching Grant, College of Charleston, 2013
Sage/Pine Forge Teaching Innovations & Professional Development Award, 2010
American Sociological Association The Best Teachers We Can Be: Learning Scholarly Teaching Conference, 2010
North Central Sociological Association/Midwest Sociological Society Future Faculty Certificate, 2010
UVa Lantern Society Recognition for Teaching & Service, 2008
Teaching is my passion, and I view it as activist work. I seek to make the classroom a place to confront assumptions, dissect power, and hopefully help move thought based in ideologies to thought based in fact and analysis. In all courses I place an emphasis on the interactions between structure and agency or oppression and resistance as students tend to place too much weight on either seemingly insurmountable binding forces or the apparent super power of humans to overcome any and all adversity. By emphasizing both sides, I stress that society is an interplay between the individual and social structures, and in this manner, students can reconcile their actions (or lack thereof) with consequences for their society. I aim for classes to be a mix of lecture, discussion, group and individual projects, and to have an experiential learning component when possible.
The scholarship of teaching and learning is also an integral part of my research framework as much of my writing is on the pedagogy of race and ethnicity. My approach to teaching an introductory race and ethnicity course can be seen through the organization and features of my co-edited volume, with Milton Vickerman (University of Virginia), Race and Ethnicity (Cognella). The article "More Than a Knapsack: The White Supremacy Flower as a New Model for Teaching Racism" is already being employed in the classroom by many professors. The basis of this article can also be viewed through the related TEDx talk, "Understanding Our Roots: White Supremacy is More Than the KKK." In addition, my book Understanding Racism, systematically reviews and explains 13 major theories of racism, this book is valuable to undergraduate and graduate students as well as community activists and learning circles (published by SAGE).
Check out a recent article on using infographics in the classroom, featured in The Sociological Cinema blog and in the SSSP Teaching Social Problems Division newsletter. If you're looking for the appendix mentioned in this article, you can download it here.
Professional Pedagogy Positions
Founding Pedagogy Editor, Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
Race and Ethnicity Editor, TRAILS
Former Chair, SSSP Teaching Social Problems Division
Training & Awards
Most Promising New Textbook Award for Understanding Racism, Textbook and Academic Authors Association, 2022
Education Freedom Award, NAACP, Coastal Carolina University chapter, 2015
Liberal Arts and Sciences Small Teaching Grant, College of Charleston, 2013
Sage/Pine Forge Teaching Innovations & Professional Development Award, 2010
American Sociological Association The Best Teachers We Can Be: Learning Scholarly Teaching Conference, 2010
North Central Sociological Association/Midwest Sociological Society Future Faculty Certificate, 2010
UVa Lantern Society Recognition for Teaching & Service, 2008
Sample of Courses Taught
Race & Ethnicity
Course Description: Racial and ethnic conflict and change in an historical context. Emphasis on the United States, but a comparative, global perspective will be developed. Specific topics include: racial and ethnic ideologies and public policy; race and class relations; ethnic mobility and the assimilation process; social scientific controversies in racial and ethnic studies; and strategies for change.
Course Objectives & Learning Outcomes:
• Detail how race is socially constructed
• Explain how and why racial categories change and how different races are formed in relation to one another
• Analyze, compare and contrast race, ethnicity, and nationality
• Analyze, compare and contrast race and class
• Know the main historical dates/eras of plantation slavery, reconstruction, immigration restriction and reform, and civil rights initiatives
• Grasp how race has and continues to be an organizing principle of society
• Understand the complexity of identities (plural!) and intersectional analysis
• Outline theories of racism
• Describe and analyze micro and macro prejudice and discrimination.
• Know some basic facts and figures regarding current racial inequality
• Feel comfortable having a conversation about race!
Race and Housing
Course Description: This course will look at the intersections of housing and race, specifically the ways in which access to safe and affordable housing is shaped by racism. Sociological approaches will be bridged with critical race theory to evaluate the contemporary state of housing conditions.
Course Objectives & Learning Outcomes
• Grasp foundational theories of housing inequality
• Know basic housing inequality data
• Analyze patterns of power
• Assess how housing shapes people’s access to other critical resources such as employment, education, transportation, and health
• Employ critical race theory to evaluate the relationship between residence and race
• Reflect on your position in society, particular in relationship to race and housing
Systems of Inequality
Course Description: An overview of the theories, structures, and statistics of inequality with a focus toward race,
class, and gender. The course also looks at policy creation and implementation as well as
contemporary inequality in various institutions.
Course Objectives & Learning Outcomes:
• Grasp foundational theories of inequality
• Know basic inequality data
• Analyze patterns of power
• Understand how class, race, and gender act as fundamental lines of stratification
• Assess how both (on micro, meso, and macro levels) advantages and disadvantages affect
group and individual mobility
• Evaluate the roles of structure and agency (oppression and resistance)
• Debate contemporary issues on inequality
Race & Ethnicity
Course Description: Racial and ethnic conflict and change in an historical context. Emphasis on the United States, but a comparative, global perspective will be developed. Specific topics include: racial and ethnic ideologies and public policy; race and class relations; ethnic mobility and the assimilation process; social scientific controversies in racial and ethnic studies; and strategies for change.
Course Objectives & Learning Outcomes:
• Detail how race is socially constructed
• Explain how and why racial categories change and how different races are formed in relation to one another
• Analyze, compare and contrast race, ethnicity, and nationality
• Analyze, compare and contrast race and class
• Know the main historical dates/eras of plantation slavery, reconstruction, immigration restriction and reform, and civil rights initiatives
• Grasp how race has and continues to be an organizing principle of society
• Understand the complexity of identities (plural!) and intersectional analysis
• Outline theories of racism
• Describe and analyze micro and macro prejudice and discrimination.
• Know some basic facts and figures regarding current racial inequality
• Feel comfortable having a conversation about race!
Race and Housing
Course Description: This course will look at the intersections of housing and race, specifically the ways in which access to safe and affordable housing is shaped by racism. Sociological approaches will be bridged with critical race theory to evaluate the contemporary state of housing conditions.
Course Objectives & Learning Outcomes
• Grasp foundational theories of housing inequality
• Know basic housing inequality data
• Analyze patterns of power
• Assess how housing shapes people’s access to other critical resources such as employment, education, transportation, and health
• Employ critical race theory to evaluate the relationship between residence and race
• Reflect on your position in society, particular in relationship to race and housing
Systems of Inequality
Course Description: An overview of the theories, structures, and statistics of inequality with a focus toward race,
class, and gender. The course also looks at policy creation and implementation as well as
contemporary inequality in various institutions.
Course Objectives & Learning Outcomes:
• Grasp foundational theories of inequality
• Know basic inequality data
• Analyze patterns of power
• Understand how class, race, and gender act as fundamental lines of stratification
• Assess how both (on micro, meso, and macro levels) advantages and disadvantages affect
group and individual mobility
• Evaluate the roles of structure and agency (oppression and resistance)
• Debate contemporary issues on inequality