Teaching Experience

My interdisciplinary courses stem from my goal to communicate how ideas about religion, art, culture, and identity form in the public sphere and change over time. I encourage students to think critically about how narratives of history, as a form of storytelling, construct and complicate identity and belonging through representations of race, gender, class, sexuality, nationality, religion, and ethnicity.  Motivated by my own research interests surrounding the relationship between theatricality and performances of religious and political belief systems in the United States, I design courses in which students can self-reflect on how their personal values influence their point of view as both scholars and citizens.

Selection of Courses

  • American Gods: History of Religion in the US
  • Staging the Bible
  • The Rise of the Christian Right
  • Religion and Popular Culture
  • Pilgrimage & Tourism
  • Performing Faith
  • Theatre History
  • American Popular Entertainment
  • Dramaturgy
  • Adaptation Studies
  • Contemporary Theatre in the US
  • Play Structure and Analysis

In my classrooms, I use the Universal Design for Learning framework to ensure equitable access to course materials and fair student assessment strategies. In addition to digitizing all course materials for ease of use and access, I teach in a multi-modal format by incorporating visual aids, auditory materials, and experiential learning opportunities to accommodate a wide range of learning styles.

In the classroom, I strive to create an inclusive and supportive learning environment in which students of all backgrounds feel welcome and encouraged. I begin by positioning my own identity as a cis-gendered, white scholar and modeling inclusive practices, such as sharing one’s pronouns and clarifying name pronunciations. Additionally, I crowdsource rules of engagement for respectful classroom discussion. I craft syllabi that represent a multiplicity of voices from underrepresented groups and question Western canons of literature and versions of history.