Teaching

In a global economy that connects each to each via everything from technology to food to our shared climate, the Socratic exhortation to prize a life worth living takes on novel gravity and scope. However students conceive of themselves—as citizens, believers, capitalists, etc.—they must reckon with the tension between how they live and how they think one ought to live. As a teacher, I seek to cultivate the value of philosophical thinking as an avenue to examine the experiences and conduct of one’s life.

Accessibility and universal design are cornerstones of my pedagogy, and I work to make my classes pluralist in both letter and spirit. My teaching interests as a whole are diverse, spanning normative and applied ethics, the history of philosophy, social epistemology, continental philosophy, disability studies, feminist philosophy, critical philosophy of race, social and political philosophy, and medical humanities. Among other projects, I am developing the first “Philosophy of Disability” and “Intro to Phenomenology” (under the listing “Ways of Knowing”) courses offered at UMass Lowell.

Here is a sample of some of the courses I’ve taught or will soon teach:

  • Bioethics and Genetics Research (UMass Lowell)
  • Philosophy of Disability (UMass Lowell)
  • Honors Intro to Ethics (UMass Lowell)
  • Ways of Knowing (Intro to Phenomenology) (UMass Lowell)
  • Philosophy of the Body (UMass Lowell)
  • Engineering Ethics (UMass Lowell)
  • Ethical Issues in Technology (UMass Lowell)
  • Intro to Philosophy (UMass Lowell)
  • Existentialism (Dillard University)
  • Philosophy of Medicine & Health (Emory University)
  • Intro to Bioethics (Emory University)
  • Bias, Perception, & Empathy (2x) (Emory University: team taught, interdisciplinary seminars)

Selected Guest Lectures:

  • “Ableism, Ageism, and Embodiment,” Bentley University, PH 140: Disability, Values, and Society, Dr. Stephen Campbell, Oct. 2019
  • “Disability Studies: Past, Present, and Future,” Oregon State University, PHL 275: Intro to Disability Studies, Dr. Stephanie Jenkins, Jan. 2019
  • “Genomic Knowledge and the Good Biocitizen,” SUNY New Paltz, PHI 308: Philosophy and Technology, Dr. Rebecca Longtin Hansen, Sep. 2017
  • “What is Genomic Responsibility?” College of New Rochelle, PHL 366: Problems in Medical Ethics, Dr. Jennifer Scuro, Oct. 2017
  • “Infotality: The Role of Disability in the Genomic Age,” Florida Atlantic University, PHI 4633: Biomedical Ethics, Dr. Lauren Guilmette, Mar. 2017
  • “Disability and Feminist Theory, ” PHIL 123: Intro to Feminist Theory, Dr. Katharine Davies, Emory University, Sep. 2015
  • “The Meaning of Pain,” HLTH 230: Health & Humanities, Dr. Jennifer Sarrett, Emory University, Jan. 2014