Teaching is the most important part of being a professor, in my view. It helps inform your work and also is the way in which you can leave a lasting legacy. There's nothing better than helping to shape the intellectual journey of students as they make their way through the academy.
I have a varied history of teaching, starting as a substitute teacher in the Augusta, Maine school district. There I "subbed" for classes of all grade levels, from kindergarten to high school.
My first experience in a college classroom was at Beal College, in Bangor, Maine. I taught intro to Sociology there for one semester. After that, I moved on to the Sociology Department at the University of Maine, where I taught intro to Sociology, Criminology, and a Survey Research Practicum. At this time, I also taught an online Race and Justice course at the University of Southern Maine. These positions were all part-time.
At Bates, I am working on developing a menu of courses in crime and justice from a sociological bent. The courses I have taught at Bates include the following:
- Intro to Sociology
- Thinking Sociologically with Numbers (statistics)
- Race, Crime, and Punishment in America (seminar)
- Crime, Justice, and Society (survey class)
- Crime and Justice over the Life Course (seminar)
- Crime and Deviance in the American Civil War (short-term class)
I enjoy back and forth with students and try to encourage active engagement with the material rather than direct lecture. I'm planning on incorporating new techniques in my courses and will keep the page updated as I try new things.