I have experience teaching media studies, digital culture, and practice-based courses. Teaching is an opportunity to create inclusive and equitable learning experiences, with the syllabus as the roadmap. My teaching philosophy highlights my commitment to creativity and independence as cultivators of critical thinking.
Can we think, theorize, participate, and engage while making?
Through carefully structured assignments, curriculums, and activities, I provide students with this space for freedom to become leaders in their learning.
I employ a variety of assessment methods: written essays, practice-bases media projects, filmmaking, media analysis, peer reviews, and weekly reflections. I offer opportunities for revising projects and incorporating feedback. Final assignments often take the form of longer scholarly essays, creative portfolios, or final revised projects accompanied by artist statements, emphasizing depth of engagement over memorization. I integrate structured peer review processes, encouraging students to exchange feedback and learn from one another. Through activities like guest speaker research and interviews, I mentored students in conducting independent research and building confidence as scholars. I view mentorship as a way to foster community, critical thought, and independence among learners.
Some courses I have taught before are :
- Introduction to Media Theory
How can we think about and with different forms of media and communication technologies? This introductory course in media theory is designed to offer a foundation in media theory by exploring different media and their effects, both through theory and practice. The course is organized thematically, focusing on different media each week.
- Experimenting with Small File Media
This workshop-style production class, experiments with the concept of small file media. Massive files and digital trash fill up our hard drives and the data clouds. What are environmental impacts of media consumption ? How can we create with less space, smaller resolutions and less data ? This class offers the opportunity to experiment with making films and media works that can travel light on the Internet. Leave your giant hard drives at home and let’s experiment with the politics and aesthetics of low resolutions. The course focuses on developing a film and supporting materials to submit in a film festibal while exploring the aesthetics, politics, and environmental ethics of small media films.
- Humans and Machines, A History
This course explores how humans and machines have interacted, become intertwined, and opposed one another throughout history, from the Paleolithic era to the present. Through a variety of texts (theory, philosophy, theater, visual art, instruction manuals, films, advertisements, and podcasts), we discuss how machines can enable, inhibit, and control their users in a variety of contexts. Students also have the chance to apply historically grounded knowledge to propose technological solutions to contemporary problems. Co-designed with faculty and grads from UCSC for the Humanizing Technology certificate. Supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Designed in Summer 2022, Implemented in Academic year 2022-2023
- Pedagogy in Film and Digital Media
This course prepares graduates students for teaching assistantships and instructor roles in the Film and Digital Media Department. The structure of the class considers how/when you will encounter different elements of teaching and grading throughout the academic quarters. Throughout the quarter we will dive deeper intoequitable and inclusive teaching practices, active learning practices for classrooms that can be online, in-person, or hybrid, and how to transition from one to another smoothly. Other topics include designing inclusive course syllabi and lesson plans, teaching technologies, and classroom environment.
Some courses I would loveeee to teach are:
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Techno-Intimacies: Desire, Technology and Affect
Essay Film: Hybrid Forms and Media Critique
Experimental Environmental Media
Virtual Unrealities: Virtuality, Embodiment and Presence
Body-media
Film and Architecture
I <3 being a teaching fellow and have done it many times:
Summer GSI Pedagogy Peer Support Team Fellowship
Description: supporting Graduate Instructors as they teach courses for the first time
Teaching and Learning Center, UCSC ($2500), Summer 2024
Humanizing Technology Peer Mentor Fellowship
Description: supporting Humanizing Technology fellows as they redesign course syllabi. The Humanities Institute, UCSC, ($2500 mentor award), Summer 2023
Graduate Pedagogy Fellowship,
Description: participated in a quarter-long program to facilitating professional development for graduate student educators in my departments
TLC( Teaching and Learning Center), UCSC, ($2000 award) Spring 2023
NEH Humanizing Technology Teaching Fellowship,
Description: collaborated with faculty and graduate students to design the Humanizing Technology certificate, National Endowment for the Humanities, UCSC, ($5000 award and teaching a course), Summer 2022
I also got some $$$ to develop a mentoring program for graduate student teachers in my department:
Program Lead and Facilitator, FDM Pedagogy Peer Mentoring Program,
Description: established a peer mentoring program for Teaching Assistants in the department to gather and disseminate strategies for equitable teaching,Film and Digital Media Department, USCS, 2023-2024
The University of the Future Now! Grant, Arts Division DEI Funding ($3000 towards the development of the pedagogy peer mentoring program), Winter 2024
Small Pedagogy Grant, Teaching and Learning Center, UCSC ($5000 for the establishment of a the pedagogy peer mentoring program, 2023-2024
Certifications/ Trainings