Teaching

When I started grad school, I had no interest in teaching.

This is especially surprising because I love talking about art and history with other people.

Unlike most of my cohort, I had a non-teaching fellowship mentoring small groups students (see below), but I decided to try it out during a summer session.

That summer changed my entire career goals.

Since then, I've taught classes at Brooklyn College and New York City College of Technology in both the Art and African American Studies departments.

My courses range from introductory surveys to specialized courses in Nineteenth-Century, Caribbean, and African American Art.

Diversifying the Curriculum

Diversity was important to me long before the 2020 Summer of Black Lives Matter.

I like to include works by women and people of color in my classes—even (and especially) when covering topics that aren't specifically focused on marginalized groups.

Because of my research interests, our discussions of the nineteenth century almost always include a connection to the colonial world.

My students seem to like it. It not only connects to many of them on a personal level but shows them current discourses in art history. For the last few years, I taught a special topics course on the Caribbean that was popular enough to become a permanent course!

Creative Projects

It may be because my K-8 years were spent in a progressive school, but I often include creative options for final projects.

While writing is an important skill, I've found that giving students the choice to make short videos instead of papers has yielded positive results. In addition to accommodating different learning styles, some students critically examine objects in ways they might not in traditional paper.

In some classes, I push this idea even further. A group of BFA students in my Impressionism class painted portraits of each other and gave a presentation connecting them to the social and collaborative practices of the artists we studied. Others curated and designed virtual exhibitions—including one with interactive features.

Undergraduate Advisement

As part of a fellowship, I mentored undergraduates through the CUNY Pipeline Program.

The program aims to diversify academia by providing undergraduates from underrepresented groups the resources they need to apply to PhD programs across the country.

Our students largely benefited from the experience and it was fun to work with them individually, empowering them to sharpen their skills and apply with confidence.

Ironically, I frequently gave them advice that I wish I had been given as an undergrad.