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Teaching (Please contact me for recent syllabi)
Teaching Philosophy
As an instructor of History and the Humanities, it is my goal to encourage students to develop the necessary knowledge basis, critical thinking skills, and research abilities to further investigate their own intellectual curiosities. These goals are best accomplished by through equitable and student-centered course designs that build their intrinsic motivation to engage in course material. I encourage students to appreciate the value that historical study has for our own contemporary society, by identifying themes pertinent to their lives and by creating space for them to contribute their own individual perspectives. Moreover, I provide my students with a level of autonomy over their learning in the expectation that student engagement is increased and learning more meaningful when they can pursue their own particular interests. Finally, through the cultivation of a constructive and inclusive learning environment students not only become more comfortable sharing their ideas, but they develop in the communication and refinement of those ideas.
Courses Taught
CLS 1500, Introduction to Greek and Roman Culture: Survey of the development of classical culture from prehistoric Greece to the fall of the Roman Empire. A broad view of the philosophy, religion, mythology, literature, art, and architecture and the interrelated political, economic, and social conditions.
GR 2010, Intermediate Greek I: Review of essentials and reading for comprehension in selected authors
HIEU 104, Byzantine Empire: A survey course of the history of the Byzantine state from the reign of Constantine to the fall of Constantinople (306 to 1453). This course emphasizes the importance of the Byzantine state within a larger European focus, its relationship to the emerging Arab states, its political and cultural contributions to Russia and the late medieval west.
HUM 1, Foundations of Western Civilization: Israel & Greece: This particular course is focused on texts from the Hebrew Bible and from Greek epic, history, drama, and philosophy in their cultural context.
HUM 2, Rome, Christianity, and the Middle Ages: This course is focused on the Roman Empire, the Christian transformation of the classical world in late antiquity, and the rise of a European culture during the Middle Ages
HUM 3, Renaissance, Reformation, and Early Modern Europe: A lecture course on the revival of classical culture and values and the reaction against medieval ideas concerning the place of human beings in the world. The Protestant Reformation and its intellectual and political consequences. The philosophical background to the scientific revolution.
HUM 4, Enlightenment, Romanticism, Revolution (1660–1848): A course on the enlightenment’s revisions of traditional thought; the rise of classical liberalism; the era of the first modern political revolutions; romantic ideas of nature and human life.
HUM 5, Modern Culture (1848–present): An in-depth study of topics in the humanities. Subject matter varies, focusing on one author, intellectual topic, or specific historical tradition.
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