I teach in sociology with specializations in race and ethnicity, Gender and Sexuality, political sociology, Islam, and the Middle East and North Africa. I seek social justice outcomes through interdisciplinary social scientific and feminist approaches. I hope to promote transferable anti-oppressive tools that are effective both within and outside of the classroom.

 

  • My classes encourage dialogue and reciprocity. When designing a course, I ask myself questions like the following: who is challenging the discipline and why? Who is currently left of out of the discipline? Which students will feel excluded from my syllabus?

    During course execution, I collaborate with students and centralize their inputs. I believe that becoming a better instructor is heavily dependent on learning from students. Today’s students are smart and vibrant and have much to offer to the classroom.

  • I take accessibility seriously. I incorporate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in both research and teaching. In my classrooms, I use UDL to promote the uniqueness of each student’s learning abilities. Acknowledging that we all learn differently resists ableist education models and removes barriers to learning that are imposed through singular or rigid approaches.

  • I teach students that the first step to critical thinking is unlearning. Through critical engagement with deconstructive texts, students unlearn normalized assumptions about gender, sexuality, and race.

    I encourage deconstruction through the critique rather than the censorship of homophobic, heterosexist, or racist texts. Students must be able to confront such texts and respond to them critically.