Teaching:

Sociology 101 - Sociological Perspectives

Taught during Summer 2009, Spring 2010

One of my main goals for this course is to introduce students to sociological topics and concepts in a way that allows them to connect what they learn in class with their own lives. Previous book assignments include Griffin's Black Like Me, Ritzer's The McDonaldization of Society, and Gladwell's Outliers.

Sociology 122 - Race and Ethnic Relations

Taught during Fall 2010

We all have certain assumptions about and experiences of race and ethnicity. In this course, I begin by challenging the notion that the US is a post-racial society. Students are responsible for the direction of about 20% of the course through group presentations about topics they choose. Previous book assignments include Conley's Being Black, Living in the Red, Chavez's The Latino Threat, and Bonilla-Silva's Racism without Racists.

Sociology 251 - Measurement and Data Collection

Taught during Fall 2009, Summer 2010

I really enjoy teaching students the basics of research methods. In this course, I incorporate many hands-on activities to encourage active learning and also connect the material to applications in real world jobs outside academia.

Selected comments about my teaching and courses

From my Sociology 101 students:

"The format of this course was, by far, one of the best I have experienced here at Carolina. Each topic, and the assignments that went with them, was concise and helped me to learn the material. Overall, this is a great class!"

"I came into this class hating group work, but now I can appreciate it."

"I thought you did a great job providing relevant examples that were important to students."

"My writing is much improved after taking this class."

"I've had a lot of teachers over the years, and your obvious enthusiasm for teaching was fantastic. I enjoyed the class!"

From my Sociology 251 students:

"I really enjoy this course. Your teaching style is enjoyable and I feel as though I am learning a lot."

"Awesome class! Awesome teacher! I really expected this class to be boring but you made it good."

"Only 8:00 class I've ever liked, which is especially interesting as I thought this class would be a drag."

Published Teaching Materials and Exercises:

I am the author of review materials for the second edition of Dalton Conley's You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist. You can find these quizzes, blog questions, and other study materials at W.W. Norton's StudySpace. I am currently in the process of writing quantitative exercises for Norton's introduction to sociology textbooks.