Student Engagement

I love teaching because of my students. Their curiosities, application of anthropology to personal experiences and their social world, their question of theories from past and present, inform me about new social, cultural, and political worlds we must navigate.

My style of teaching (form and content) fosters a comfortable learning environment that allows students to feel free to discuss topics which they may have previously felt apprehensive (credit to UCLA Fem Antro students of Spring 2022 for helping build and appreciate this style). I work hard to engage students in a way that emphasizes asking questions about the world around them as well as developing their skills to seek rigorous, grounded answers. This requires a balance of building the confidence and curiosity to ask questions as well as providing analytical tools for interpreting the world.

As one student phrased it, I allowed their "balloon to exist without pushing in on it”.

I am especially committed to recruiting, mentoring, and advising students from underrepresented communities, and first-generation students. I advocate for the matriculation of students who hve lived with financial, emotional, personal, cultural, and geographic challenges