Areas of Experience
Sociology of Culture, Race/Class and Gender, Social Theory, Urban Sociology, Social Problems, Research Design Methods

Positions Held
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia; Graduate Instructor 2004-Present
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia; Adjunct Faculty 2006-Present

Published Articles on Teaching
Using Mid-Semester Evaluations to Encourage Active Learning [access]

Teaching Philosophy
In teaching sociology at the University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University, I have encountered diverse student bodies that include graduate school bound majors, non-traditional age students, students on athletic scholarship, and first generation college students. I aim to reach all of these students by instilling in them what C. Wright Mills calls the Sociological Imagination - the ability to connect personal experience with social conditions of the time.   The Sociological Imagination is a prerequisite for meaningful social research as well as a life skill.   To achieve this in the classroom I build on students' existing knowledge and broaden students' perspectives while orienting them to their own strengths and promise. [full statement]

Teaching Evaluations
[click here for summary]

Sample Course Descriptions
Social Theory [syllabus]
Social theories are metaphors for how human relationships shape individual will.   Theorists we will read in this course use a range of images such as the human body, machines, games, theatrical stages, and virtual networks to illustrate the abstract idea of 'society' and its impact on us as individuals. Many people are drawn to sociology because they believe that an understanding of social structure is crucial for achieving human freedom.   In this sense, social theories are tools for effecting social change.

Sociology is a 'multi-paradigm' discipline, meaning that there are many competing approaches to sociological knowledge.   This capstone course is designed to introduce you to these approaches so it is organized by paradigm rather than by topic.   This arrangement will feel unfamiliar, but we will be aided by holding on to two themes that allow us to compare paradigms.   With each approach we will focus on what metaphor each theorist uses to convey the relationship between individual and society.   Through applying theory to contemporary issues, we will evaluate how far that metaphor can stretch before breaking.   We will also examine how each theorist understands human freedom.   Through discussion, we will evaluate how useful that social theory is for addressing different social issues that concern each of us.   

Specifically, I will ask you to do a significant amount of theoretical reading and reflective writing.   You will be asked to write on each course reading to aid your understanding of the theories.   Short papers will help you to apply the theories to contemporary issues of interest to you.   The final paper will enable you to understand how theory is situated in the research process of sociology as you respond to an empirical sociology book of your choice (with instructor approval).   There are no in class, timed exams.   As we read and write about social theory, I hope to engage you in critical thought about the world around you and to help you connect your own biography to social structure.

Culture and Power [syllabus]
In this course we will focus on sociological theories of power and their intersections with politics and culture (i.e. ideology) primarily in US society. The topics of this course are organized into ‘sites’ of power, asking what is power, who has it and how is it structured? We will begin with early theories that locate power in a class-based economy, the nation state and the education system and move to more recent theories that locate power in identities, popular culture, and transnationalism. We will access these theories of power by a close reading and discussion of original texts as well as by looking at how these theories have been put into practice. To this end, I’ve coupled major strands of social theory with empirical studies of social inequalities and/or social movements. Some of the issues we will examine include labor, welfare reform, color-blind ideology, feminism, punk music and culture jamming. By the end of the course you should have a grasp of some of the major strands of social theory on power and an ability to think critically about a number of social practices in their intellectual and historical contexts.

Cities and Cultures [syllabus]
What is the role of the city in social life? The city has been understood to be both a place of great diversity, hope and new beginnings as well as a site of racial segregation, hardship and alienation. In this class we will consider how space and culture interact in ways that both prevent and foster social equality. We will ground our readings and discussion in observations of public space in Charlottesville. From this and our study of US cities, we will also look at the changing nature of urban space over time and across cultures. By the end of this course, you will gain a sense of the role of public space in democratic societies, the possibilities for equality in ‘global’ cities, and how new forms of urban space (virtual space, amusement parks and gated communities) impact social equality.