Teaching (Please contact me for recent syllabi)
Teaching Philosophy
As an instructor of History and the Humanities, it is my goal to encourage students to develop the necessary knowledge basis, critical thinking skills, and research abilities to further investigate their own intellectual curiosities. These goals are best accomplished by through equitable and student-centered course designs that build their intrinsic motivation to engage in course material. I encourage students to appreciate the value that historical study has for our own contemporary society, by identifying themes pertinent to their lives and by creating space for them to contribute their own individual perspectives. Moreover, I provide my students with a level of autonomy over their learning in the expectation that student engagement is increased and learning more meaningful when they can pursue their own particular interests. Finally, through the cultivation of a constructive and inclusive learning environment students not only become more comfortable sharing their ideas, but they develop in the communication and refinement of those ideas.
Recent Courses Taught
HUM 100, The Life Worth Living: The concept of eudaimonia, or “the best possible life attainable by human beings,” proposes that our happiness depends more on our own individual cultivation of virtue rather than on the mutable circumstances of the world around us. However, by some definitions, eudaimonia is only achievable to the exceptional and the elite, and it is unattainable for most ordinary people. This course explores the question of whether classical notions of happiness are available to us all and, if this kind of happiness is not our primary goal, it asks what makes life actually worth living. In thinking about these questions, we will follow the lives of four individuals in their pursuit of “the good life,” as each examines the relationship between happiness and knowledge, experience, and material prosperity.
HUM 100, The Self and the Other: This course is unified by the notion that a greater awareness of one's self and community can be achieved by placing one's own beliefs in dialogue with “Others.” Our assigned readings hold a mirror to their respective audiences, prompting them to reconsider their own individual and collective values upon recognizing the shared humanity of those whom they initially considered different from themselves. By interrogating notions of "Otherness," we will explore how these authors define themselves and their communities, identify the distance between our actual and idealized selves, and advance social critiques of imperialist attitudes.
HUM 2, Rome, Christianity, and the Middle Ages:
This course begins with the establishment of the Roman state, the development of the Christian religion, and the ultimate intertwining of their value systems. We will then explore the inheritance of these cultural developments within a broadly conceived Mediterranean and European world as we move into the medieval period and the early stages of the Renaissance. While this course will explore many topics, a special emphasis will be placed on the notion of social harmony. All of our authors are reflecting on the inconsistency and discordance present within their own societies and often between their own society and that of others. We will examine how our authors position themselves to their respective communities, offering critiques of internecine conflict, suggesting solutions to social ailments, and, ultimately, how they envision a more harmonious world.
