Teaching Experience

At the University of Pennsylvania:

Lead Instructor, PHIL 2843 / VLST 2230: Philosophy & Visual perception (2022); Syllabus
Lead Instructor, PHIL 223 / VLST 223: Philosophy & Visual perception (2021); Evaluations
Grader, PHIL 425: Philosophy of Science (2021)
TA, PHIL 205: What is Meaning? Philosophy of Mind and Language; two sections (2020)
TA, PHIL 231: Epistemology: Knowledge and Reality; two sections (2019)
TA, VLST 101: Eye, Mind and Image; two sections (2019 and 2002)
TA, PHIL 015: Logic and Formal Reasoning; two sections (2018)

I completed the Penn CTL Certificate in College and University Teaching in 2020, and worked as a TA trainer in 2021 and 2022, and as a Philosophy Tutor in 2022. I also regularly mentor undergrads, both officially and unofficially. My mentees have been primarily FGLI (first-generation, low-income) and/or international students.

Outside of the university setting, I've taught EFL/ESL/Critical Writing in Finland, Hong Kong and India. See my full teaching portfolio here.

Teaching Philosophy: Building Blocks

Skill Building

Over the last few years I've been incorporating skill-building workshops with practical exercises into my philosophy classes/recitations. I call these PHILSKILLS workshops and I cover topics like how to spot and evaluate arguments, how to read philosophy, how to outline and write philosophy papers, how to talk philosophy, and how to take philosophy papers to the next level. I invite my students to experiment with different kinds of note-taking and active reading strategies (mind maps, section summaries, argument reconstructions), participate in peer reviews, and periodically reflect on their own progress and learning needs. I also encourage discussion of skill-building strategies in class.

Feel free to email me if you'd like a link to a google folder with the latest versions of the workshop materials I use.

Some useful resources:

Using Discussion Cards to Balance Philosophical Conversations

Jim Pryor's Guidelines on Writing a Philosophy Paper

Alessandra Fassio's How to Read Philosophy

Jim Pryor's Guidelines on Reading Philosophy

A Sample Philosophy Paper by Angela Mendelovici

Critical Thinking Web (HKU)

Diversifying Philosophy

The project of diversifying philosophy is very close to my heart. I wrote my Bachelor's and Master's theses on cross-cultural philosophy, studied Buddhist philosophy with Tibetan teachers in India, and have been incorporating non-Western and minority philosophers and philosophical ideas into my syllabi and lesson plans for as long as I've been teaching. Lately I've been focusing on disability inclusion and accessibility. Here are links to some resources I've found useful:

BLOGS, OP-EDs & ARTICLES

Tobias Coleman: Philosophy is dead white—and dead wrong (Times Higher Education).

Jay L. Garfield & Bryan W. Van Norden: If Philosophy Won’t Diversify, Let’s Call it What it Really Is (NYT).

Muhammad Ali Khalidi: Three Ways of Diversifying a Philosophy Syllabus (APA online).

Alexander Guerrero: To Be a Department of Philosophy (Daily Nous)

Marcus Arvan: Does making philosophy more inclusive require rethinking philosophical methods and standards? (The Philosophers’ Cocoon).

Bryan W. Van Norden: Western Philosophy is Racist (Aeon).

Amod Lele's Love of All Wisdom--Philosophy through multiple traditions

Shelley Tremain's Biopolitical Philosophy

Rebecca Ratcliffe & Claire Shaw:

'Philosophy is for posh, white boys with trust funds' – why are there so few women? (Guardian)

Events Organized