Teaching Philosophy
My main goal as a teacher is to engage students in meaningful conversations. My teaching style is student-centered rather than material-centered. At its core, history is about conversations—looking at evidence, making connections, and providing a path to new knowledge that helps us understand who we are and how we came to be. With that in mind, I practice new and inclusive pedagogies and approach diversity with intentionality. Another important goal of my teaching is to help my students gain digital and epistemic literacy. Deciphering fact from fiction has become especially important in recent years, with no end in sight.
For this purpose, I also actively seek out scholarship and materials that do not fit particular stereotypes, to ensure that students hear from a perspective they can see themselves in. Another strategy I employ to create an inclusive environment within my classroom is recording, transcribing, and outlining lectures, which I then make available electronically; this makes materials more accessible to the full spectrum of students. This includes creating flexible options for assignments; I encourage students to present their knowledge through a variety of formats such as posters, podcasts, slideshows, or even traditional essays if that’s what they feel most comfortable doing. More recently, I have engaged in the principles of inclusive design and digital methodology. Embracing inclusion means eliminating barriers and avoiding the pressure to label students, making student abilities and needs the determining factor in teaching.
COURSES TAUGHT
Michigan State University
Assistant Professor of History
Undergraduate Courses
HST 201: Historical Methods and Skills
IAH 221B: The Great Ages: The Medieval and Early Modern Worlds (I)
ISS 310H: People and the Environment (I)
ISS 310: People and the Environment (I)
ISS 325: War and Revolution (I)
Central Michigan University
Instructor and Graduate Teaching Assistant
Undergraduate Courses
HST 200WI: Medieval Civilization
HST 101WI: Western Civilization: From Ancient Times to 1700
HST 102WI: Western Civilization, From 1700-Present
HST 111WI: United States History to 1865: Quest for Liberty
HST 112WI: United States History from 1865: Struggle for Liberty
Central Michigan University
Online Instructor
Undergraduate Courses
HST200: Medieval Civilization
UPCOMING COURSES
Michigan State University
Assistant Professor of History
Undergraduate Courses
HST 250: History and Technology of the Digital Age (Summer 2024, Asynchronous)
Lab for the Education and Advancement of Digital Research (LEADR) Courses and Digital Platforms
Spring 2024
ANP 433: American Indian Contemporary Communities – GitHub
ANP 412: Method and Practice in Digital Heritage
IAH 221C: Science Fiction, Technology, and the Future – Podcasting/Website Building
HST 812/DH865: Digital Methods Seminar
HST 201: Historical Methods and Skills – Introduction to Digital Methods Workshop (Soviet Union, WWII, Early America, The American West)
HST 489: Seminar in Digital History
ISS 325: War and Revolution (I) – Knightlab JS StoryMaps
HST 850: Seminar in Comparative History: Language and Power – Pedagogy and Digital Methods
HST 203: US History after 1876 – Knightlab JS Timeline
HST 420: History of Sexuality since the Eighteenth Century – Zines
HST 369: Japan to 1800 (Japan in the Age of the Samurai) – Honors Option (3D printing/modelling)
HST 317: American Jewish History – WordPress Exhibit Building
Cultural Heritage Informatics Initiative partnership with LEADR
Fall 2023
HST 201: Historical Methods and Skills – Introduction to Digital Methods Workshop (Early America, Words of History)
ANP 420: Language and Culture – Google Forms and Voyant
HST 304: Civil War Era – Omeka Exhibit Building
ANP 489: Anthro Capstone – Digital Presence Building on WordPress
ISS 325: War and Revolution (I) – Knightlab JS StoryMaps
HST 475: History of the Book – WordPress Digitization Project
HST 499: Senior Honors Thesis – Introduction to Digital Methods Workshop
RCAH 336: Topics in Language and Culture – Google Earth Project
HST 397: Global Soccer – Podcasting
Cultural Heritage Informatics Initiative partnership with LEADR