My Teaching Philosophy (no pun intended)

Over the course of my academic career, I have taught a broad range of courses both within philosophy and outside of philosophy. I’ve taught courses in history of philosophy, philosophy of science, metaphysics and epistemology and logic. I have pedagogical expertise in teaching (and creating) what I call “cross-cutting” philosophy courses, that is, courses that cover a range of philosophical issues/topics that intersect on a set of applied issues and topics.

I believe that I should remain intentional in educating the students about how the norms and practices of academic philosophy are influenced both by the discipline’s history and academic institutions’ interpretation of said history. However, I encourage my students to see themselves as part of this history.

Thus, my Philosophy of Teaching is that my role as an instructor is to introduce to students to new methods and concepts that they then can then incorporate into their understanding of their unique and diverse experiences, to develop their own unique voice and style for engaging in philosophical discourse.

In light of this, I will often devote either class days or assignments, that ask students to reflect on their learning experiences in the course and try to explain what was it about certain experiences that made the material “come alive” within their minds. These “come alive” moments, I believe, are essential creating a learning environment where students develop a sense of ownership over the material being taught.