Teaching

Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy is shaped by my own experiences as a first-generation student and have been refined over years of instruction first as a working archivist and librarian, then as an instructor of record. I am heavily influenced by my years of working as an archival practitioner, and this is something I bring into the classroom as well.

I strongly believe that teaching and learning are collaborative processes, and while the instructor comes from a position of experience and authority, they should also be continually open to learning from their students. I aim to create classroom environments filled with excitement for the subject matter but also with a deep empathy for my fellow partners in learning, with the goal of empowering students to see themselves as not just recipients of knowledge, but scholars and creators in their own right.

I also believe strongly that librarianship, archivy, and cultural heritage professions writ large have a diversity problem, and part of the role of an effective instructor is to grapple with the fact that our professions are overwhelming white, cisgender, able-bodied, and heterosexual. One of my core teaching goals is to maintain a critical lens when teaching information studies courses, in order to challenge this homogeneity and the ways it damages institutions, researchers/users, and workers, and to support people from traditionally minoritized backgrounds to consider joining the ranks of the information professions. To this end, I make sure that the syllabi and course content delivery of all of my classes incorporate critical and diverse viewpoints while acknowledging my own positionality, and I strive to provide flexibility, support, and empathy to all of my students.

Selected Syllabi