In the college classroom, I tackle pressing issues of social inequity and global political dynamics through the lens of anthropological theory and methods.
I have over 10 years of experience teaching Anthropology college courses at the introductory and advanced undergraduate level. I have designed and taught classes in the in-person, online, and hybrid (part in-person , part online) formats, including Culture & Power, Cultural Anthropology, and Latin American Politics and Culture. As a teacher, I foster an active learning environment in which students contribute directly to class discussions and debates. I view my role as a translator, providing students with the assignments, guest speakers, and tools necessary for them to understand the material through their own learning style.
Courses - Instructor of Record
Instructor, Bard College Early High School, Thurgood Marshall Academy
2020
First Year Seminar – Introduction to Humanities and Social Sciences
Instructor, University of Colorado Boulder
2017-Present
ANTH 2100 – Introduction to Cultural Anthropology [Hybrid Format]
ANTH 1200 – Culture and Power
ANTH 4730 – Latin American Politics and Culture through Film and Text
Instructor, Youngstown State University, Ohio
2019
ANTH 3705 – Cultural Anthropology [Online Format]
Courses Designed
Culture and Power
Introductory undergraduate course
In this course we will explore the relationship between cultural practices and power through mediums that range from academic texts and photography to graphic novels and theater. Power can manifest in explicit and subtle ways—as overt inequality and even violence to invisible forms of control and dominance. We will draw from global, cross-cultural examples to tackle topics such as immigration, war and peace in Colombia, the Iranian revolution, and more. Students will gain an understanding of the key interests and methods driving cultural anthropology. Additionally, students will develop tools to analyze and use a diverse range of mediums. In the final project, students will have the opportunity to expand on a course topic through the medium of their choice.
Cultural Anthropology
Introductory to mid-level undergraduate course
In this course, students will be introduced into the field of Cultural Anthropology. The course will explore the social experience of humanity and the ways in which we make our lives meaningful through our cultural views of the world. Through classic and contemporary materials, we will cover topics, such as: ethnographic method and theory, globalization/tourism, and cross-cultural concepts of race, class, religion, gender, and sexuality. Students will gain exposure to a wide range of human experiences and ways of being in the world—some of which may seem very familiar and others quite different. Throughout this class, students will be offered the tools to think critically and respectfully about such cross-cultural differences and similarities. We will pay special attention to the ways in which cultural practices have influenced and are influenced by political, economic, ecological, social processes that occur across space and time.
Latin American Politics and Culture Through Film and Text*
Upper-division undergraduate/ lower-division graduate course
This course considers themes that resonate across Latin America historically and in the present, including the legacies of colonialism, Cold War politics and neoliberalism, US military/policy intervention, drug wars, agrarian reform, race and indigeneity, class, and gender. In order to address these themes, the course builds on three case studies: Chile, Colombia, and Costa Rica. Through an analysis of each case, this course seeks to establish particular themes that run across Latin America’s history and politics, while also demonstrating the breadth and diversity of a region that defies simple definitions. The diversity of these three cases will provide the foundation for our discussions about broader histories and contemporary Latin American social and political contexts. We will examine these themes and cases through ethnographies, academic and popular articles, and films.
*The content of this course, in particular the section on Chile, draws from earlier versions taught by Dr. Donna Goldstein.
Afro-Latin America
Upper-division undergraduate/ lower-division graduate course
This course considers the African diaspora in Latin America in relation to key historic and contemporary political themes, including the legacies of slavery and colonialism, Cold War politics, neoliberalism, and US military/policy intervention. In order to address these themes, the course builds on three case studies: Cuba, Colombia, and Brazil. Through an analysis of each case, this course seeks to establish particular themes that run across Latin America’s history and politics, while also demonstrating the breadth and diversity of a region that defies simple definitions. The Cuban section will explore ideas of race and color in relation to tourism and belonging in a post-Cold War context. The section on Colombia will exam how rural Afro-Colombian and Indigenous populations have staked claims to ancestral territory in the context of over 60 years of civil war. Finally, the section on Brazil turns to urban violence and the policing of Black Brazilians. Across each case we will interrogate both the historic and contemporary manifestations of violence and oppression as well as the creative forms of subversion and resistance employed by Afro-Latin American populations. We will examine these themes and cases through ethnographies, academic and popular articles, and films.