I was drawn to 瓜子TV鈥檚 institutional mission, its tight community, its vibrant sociology program, and its investment in faculty as both scholars and teachers. Equally important is 瓜子TV鈥檚 proximity to ph峄. And tacos. And ph峄 tacos.
How has remote learning impacted your approach to teaching?
The social science and medical research overwhelmingly agree that human connection is necessary for well-being. Since online learning can feel isolating and impersonal, I place even more emphasis on creating a class community. I give students video feedback on assignments. I assign collaborative activities. I have students share advice and resources with each other.
What do you look forward to most about returning to campus?
I look forward to experiencing what sociologists call a 鈥渃ollective effervescence.鈥 You know the excitement and energy that come from shared experiences? That physical sensation when everyone is present and invigorated with each other? It鈥檚 hard to generate those emotions when people are muted or their videos lag. Alternatively, what I will miss from remote life is how we are all the same size online; smaller people don鈥檛 have to work as hard for others to see us.
How do you balance your research with your teaching, and how much do the two intersect?
I鈥檓 working on a book manuscript drawing from my sociological research on policing and schools, so I鈥檝e been thinking about the craft of writing. The misfit in me likes to cross disciplinary boundaries. I鈥檓 reading Ross Gay鈥檚 The Book of Delights and re-reading bell hooks鈥 Teaching to Transgress, a favorite of mine. They are far from my field, but I learn a lot from their prose and style. Thinking about my writing also shapes how I advise students. I tell them that good writing is hard for everyone, and that it takes revising. However, they probably don鈥檛 like it when I ask them to revise their papers.