Teaching

My Teaching Approach

 

Teaching is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. I aspire to offer students a way to understand the social implications of technology by examining  issues of immediate interest to students.

 

My goal in my teaching is similar to that in my writing.  First, I use a variety of media to analyze what counts as valid information.   I expose students a different approaches and methods of knowledge-gathering, from ethnography to clinical trial reports, from legal opinions to historical texts, from memoir to poetry.  Second, I expect students to leave my classes not just with expertise in analysis and critique, but with substantive, historical, and interdisciplinary knowledge of an area of research.  Third, I provide opportunities for students to develop imaginative approaches to course issues, including designing anti-cancer or awareness publicity campaigns, completing mini-ethnographies, in-class debates, and team projects.

 

My students have pursued successful careers in anthropology, urban planning, public health, research, law, and medicine.

 

 

Honor’s Advisees

 

I advise Honor’s Theses in Anthropology, Science and Technology Studies, Feminist Studies, and Urban Studies. I have worked with students with interests ranging from gentrification in San Francisco to cancer in Pakistan, and my primary goal in advising is to help students reach their goals in writing, analysis, and argument. Several of my advisees have won thesis awards, including the Firestone award, and have gone on to professional schools, graduate schools, and gainful employment.