Geography & Environmental Studies, University of New Mexico
As a teacher 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).
UNM 2018-2019 Outstanding New Teacher of Year
Read my Personal Statement of Teaching Philosophy and Method
Recent Courses
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.
Individual & Collective: Understanding Social Change
An introduction to social theory, connecting classical and contemporary sociological ideas to current events students care about.
Food & 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 hunger and obesity.
Locked Up: Incarceration in Question
A team-taught, year-long, service learning course that examines mass incarceration through the lenses of fine art and sociology.
Conexiones: Time, Space, and Culture
A summer study abroad program in Cuenca, Ecuador, focusing on food and rural development.
With students at El Cajas National Park in Ecuador