TEACHING
As a sociologist, I believe that it is my responsibility to illuminate the complex factors underpinning social phenomena. I am committed to helping students rethink assumptions they have formed about social and environmental problems – to move beyond the individual and take into account the structures within which those individuals operate, and to consider power and inequality when examining topics such as environmental justice, the causes and consequences of climate change, and the drivers of migration. A main goal of mine is for students to come away from my courses with more nuanced viewpoints – to always consider the historical, political, cultural, and economic foundations underlying social outcomes and to understand the complexity and challenges inherent in fostering positive social and environmental change.
At UMN, I teach courses on Statistics for Public Affairs [SYLLABUS] and Global Sustainable Development in Practice [SYLLABUS]. At Penn State, I taught a graduate-level course on Multivariate Regression for the Social Sciences [SYLLABUS] and an undergraduate course on International Development [SYLLABUS]. At the University of Maryland, College Park, I taught a course on Climate Change and Health [SYLLABUS].
