Image: Salar de Uyuni, in Southwestern Bolivia
Teaching
I center joy of inquiry in my intellectual practice as a teacher, mentor, and researcher. I am inspired by the sentiments of sociologist
C. Wright Mills, who describes good teaching not so much as teaching students what to think, but as the art of helping students learn how to think while at the same time revealing to them “what a fine feeling you get when you do it well” (Mills 1959: 79).
I believe students learn best when they are actively engaged in their own education, are motivated beyond the grade, and are able to approach the real world as they learn. I aim to build classroom communities where students have a sense of belonging, sovereignty, and confidence as producers of knowledge. My goal is to empower students as lifelong learners and critical, creative thinkers.
Check out some my student's work:
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Commodity Chain StoryMaps from GEOG 464 Food, Environment & Society
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Oral Histories collected and archived in GEOG 589 Qualitative Methods
With Conexiones students at El Cajas National Park in Ecuador
Exploring the páramo with students in Ecuador
Courses Taught
GEOG 589 Qualitative Methods
An introduction to conducting qualitative research in the social sciences, in this class students gain practical skills to prepare them for their thesis or dissertation research. See the website for our class' shared research project "Oral Histories of Farming Along the Middle Rio Grande"
GEOG 464/564 Food, Environment & Society
This course provides an overview of the emergent field of Food Studies, paying close attention to the symbolic and cultural roles of food, connecting food production and consumption, and examining the politics of food access.
UHON 301: The Global Countryside
An interdisciplinary introduction to rural studies, focusing on rural transformation in the Global North within the context of global change.
SUST 410: Lobo Gardens
This experiential class stewards the on-campus Lobo Gardens.
Previously Taught
Conexiones: Food, Sovereignty, and Development in Ecuador
A summer study abroad program in Cuenca, Ecuador, focusing on food and rural development.
Legacy of Rebellion
Explores indigenous resistance to conquest and colonialism in the Andes, focusing on the charismatic characters Tupac Amaru I, Tupac Amaru II, and Tupac Amaru Shakur.
Course Syllabus
Individual & Collective: Understanding Social Change
An introduction to social theory, connecting classical and contemporary sociological ideas to current events students care about.