TEACHING & MENTORING
During my time as a professor, I’ve worked hard to make my students’ experiences in the classroom not only intellectually meaningful but also practically useful. In addition, I spent two years (2016-2018) as a faculty-in-residence at GW, living with my family in an 800-person undergraduate dorm (we had our own faculty digs). Having been a member of a living-learning community, I understand that who you are in my class is not all you are, that said, I expect the best from you because I know how passionate and how smart you all are when you set your minds to what interests you. I encourage you to visit during office hours (please!) for professionally and academically-focused conversations so I can learn more about any course needs and/or assist you with relevant professional goals. Students at USD might be surprised to learn that I'm taking three years worth of PhD-level math classes as part of a fellowship. Being a student in classes that I find intimidating and difficult has given me even more appreciation for what you might feel sitting in my classroom!
My research informs my teaching. I am engaged in the public conversation about the future of media, politics, and tech. As a result, I am exposed to the latest technology and try to experiment with it for classroom use. I love that I can teach beyond what I just specifically research and genuinely feel Communication is the single best discipline from which to understand new tech and shifts in culture, power, and capital. My classes aim to bridge theory and practice, providing a dose of context along the way. I try to avoid having students purchase unnecessary reading materials and take advantage of digital syllabi and paperless options as much as possible.
Working as an undergraduate researcher (independent) or research assistant
My aim is to provide you a hands-on experience of what academic work is like. You are welcome to bring your own independent ideas to me for honors theses or special projects. I am also often looking for a research assistant (usually at the start of a semester) - your work might include helping me with research tasks like coding articles, building spreadsheets, or doing interviews, organizing (there's always so much organizing), and even brainstorming. I ask that you register for credit for this experience. In exceptional cases, there may be financial support, but this can be confusing for financial aid.
For advanced students (MA and PhD level):
At this point, I am only able to engage as an outside member of a committee. I enjoy bantering about big ideas but also want to see productivity. I don't do warm and fuzzy, emails are curt for efficiency's sake (don't read into them), and I will be straight with you as to whether I think your work is interesting and what problems it might have. Your ideas don't have to match mine, nor does your exact research project, I just want to see scholarship, applied or academic, that helps us learn something new and valuable.
During my time as a professor, I’ve worked hard to make my students’ experiences in the classroom not only intellectually meaningful but also practically useful. In addition, I spent two years (2016-2018) as a faculty-in-residence at GW, living with my family in an 800-person undergraduate dorm (we had our own faculty digs). Having been a member of a living-learning community, I understand that who you are in my class is not all you are, that said, I expect the best from you because I know how passionate and how smart you all are when you set your minds to what interests you. I encourage you to visit during office hours (please!) for professionally and academically-focused conversations so I can learn more about any course needs and/or assist you with relevant professional goals. Students at USD might be surprised to learn that I'm taking three years worth of PhD-level math classes as part of a fellowship. Being a student in classes that I find intimidating and difficult has given me even more appreciation for what you might feel sitting in my classroom!
My research informs my teaching. I am engaged in the public conversation about the future of media, politics, and tech. As a result, I am exposed to the latest technology and try to experiment with it for classroom use. I love that I can teach beyond what I just specifically research and genuinely feel Communication is the single best discipline from which to understand new tech and shifts in culture, power, and capital. My classes aim to bridge theory and practice, providing a dose of context along the way. I try to avoid having students purchase unnecessary reading materials and take advantage of digital syllabi and paperless options as much as possible.
Working as an undergraduate researcher (independent) or research assistant
My aim is to provide you a hands-on experience of what academic work is like. You are welcome to bring your own independent ideas to me for honors theses or special projects. I am also often looking for a research assistant (usually at the start of a semester) - your work might include helping me with research tasks like coding articles, building spreadsheets, or doing interviews, organizing (there's always so much organizing), and even brainstorming. I ask that you register for credit for this experience. In exceptional cases, there may be financial support, but this can be confusing for financial aid.
For advanced students (MA and PhD level):
At this point, I am only able to engage as an outside member of a committee. I enjoy bantering about big ideas but also want to see productivity. I don't do warm and fuzzy, emails are curt for efficiency's sake (don't read into them), and I will be straight with you as to whether I think your work is interesting and what problems it might have. Your ideas don't have to match mine, nor does your exact research project, I just want to see scholarship, applied or academic, that helps us learn something new and valuable.