I have taught courses focusing on sexuality, gender, the family, social “deviance,” and popular culture, as well as general-interest sociology classes (introduction, research methods, and theory). I have had experience working with an array of students, including undergraduates at Rutgers-Newark and Rutgers-New Brunswick, undergraduates at Columbia University, professionals enrolled in continuing education courses at Columbia, and both undergraduate and graduate students at Lehigh. In 2008, I was a recipient of Columbia University’s Summer Teaching Award. In 2019, I received a Graduate Mentorship Appreciation Award at Lehigh University.
My teaching philosophy is rooted in the idea of the learner-centered classroom. I place a premium on in-class participation and, in seminar, require students to present and lead discussions about each day’s material. This helps them to understand what it means to ask a sociological question and to be able to interrogate the methodological and theoretical soundness of particular texts on their own. I am particularly passionate about teaching students to express themselves clearly and effectively on the page.
Examples of My Syllabi:
Sociology of The Office (freshman seminar, ONLINE)
Advanced Qualitative Methods (graduate seminar)
Proseminar in Sociology (graduate seminar)
Sociology of Reality TV (freshman seminar)
Sociology of Reality TV (100-level course)
Development of Social Theory (undergraduate course)
Classical Social Theory (graduate seminar)
Sociology of the Family (Writing Intensive [“W.I.”] class)
“Bad Girls”: Gender, Sexuality, Deviance