Introduction to Philosophy

I’ve taught a variety of Introduction to Philosophy courses over the years, varied in approach and required reading. Utilizing a thematic approach and an anthology selected by a mostly analytic program, I structured the Introduction to Philosophy course at MSU around The Norton Introduction to Philosophy, building modules around various issues in the fields of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and political philosophy. I used a similar approach in structuring an introductory course at BMCC. Using a teacher-recommended text, The Philosopher’s Way, I built the course around modules focused on the various historical questions and integrated readings in its chapters. In contrast, Fairfield University’s introductory course was originally divided between two semesters, covering Ancient and Medieval Philosophy and then Modern and Contemporary. The course structure approached philosophy from a historical perspective and emphasized primary readings. Students worked with material ranging from the pre-Socratics to Aquinas, and Descartes to Derrida, respectively. These two courses were eventually condensed into a single semester, and remained chronologically formatted, using a pared down selection of primary texts. I used a similar historical structure at WPU, with minor changes to material covered and assigned reading.

Ethics

I’ve also taught different iterations of an introductory ethics course over the past 10 years. At Fordham, meeting university requirements, the structure of their Philosophical Ethics course is text-based, focusing on close reads of Aristotle and Kant, spending 4-5 weeks on each. I structure the course with an initial module exploring meta-ethical issues related to ontology, semantics, and epistemology, and then turn to a close examination of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Mill’s Utilitarianism, and Kant’s Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, etc. I end the course with a module on applied ethics. At MSU, the course addresses various issues and theories in meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics, with emphasis given to various issues and particular problems in meta-ethics and applied ethics. This structure is similar to one previously used at WPU to teach Ethics and Community Engagement, with minor changes to material covered and assigned reading.

Ethics and Healthcare

I’ve taught ethical issues in healthcare at two universities, MSU and WCSU. Courses were intermediary, and structured similarly excluding minor alterations to accommodate for departmental requirements. In both Biomedical Ethics and Ethical Issues in Healthcare, at MSU and WCSU respectively, I divide the course into three modules. The first presents a survey of moral issues in bioethics and the various ethical theories that address them; the second is related to ethical issues between medical providers and patients; and the third focuses on various issues related to life and death, and finally, justice and healthcare.

Environmental Ethics

I’ve been fortunate enough to teach environmental ethics at two universities, MSU and NJCU. At MSU, the course was intermediary, offered to both philosophy students and students in the university’s honors program; at NJCU, it was introductory and offered as a part its First Year Experience program. The former addressed such topics as moral considerability, axiology, normative alternatives, the central issues of preservation, restoration and sustainability, as well as various social issues. The latter utilized film and reading to broadly survey various responses to environmental issues in philosophy and film.

Society in an Age of Technological Compulsion

This is an intermediary course offered to both philosophy students and students in the university’s honors program at MSU. It examines the relationship between technology and society, and is concerned with such questions as how can our values inform our technological advances, and how can technology inform our social values? What role can technology play in the promotion, progression, or deterioration of such values? How does technology impact the economic and political realms of society? How does technology inhibit or promote inclusivity and diversity? It addresses the ethical issues involved in technology’s relationship to conceptions of the future, society at large, and socio-cultural values, as well as the challenges and strategies involved.

Ethics in Computing

At WCSU, I taught an introductory course dealing with similar themes to the above course, ethics and technology, but emphasizing issues related to computing. It is a cross-discipline offering, fulfilling an ethics requirement for students from the Computer Science Department. The course begins with a preparatory overview of various ethical theories, e.g., deontology, utilitarianism, virtue ethics, feminist ethics, and then focuses on issues more directly related to computing such as privacy concerns, intellectual property rights, and computing’s effects on society.

Philosophy and Utopia

Taught at WPU as a part of their Liberal Studies Colloquium course, and at NJCU for its Philosophy: Persons and Problems course, this course shares similar concerns informing the Society in an Age of Technological Compulsion course, but focuses more on conceptualizations of perfected societies, and philosophical issues involved. Drawing from diverse philosophical texts, it is guided by questions related to the metaphysical foundations for such ideal societies, the nature of humanity and the worldly conditions in which it finds itself, the means by which humanity might actualize an ideal society, and the possibility for humanity to effect the changes needed for achieving its goals.

Philosophy of the Future

The Philosophy of the Future course, taught at WPU, is an adaptation of my Philosophy and Utopia course. It considers certain shared elements but with an emphasis given to philosophical issues surrounding hypothetical scientific advances. Students read excerpts from Kurzweil’s The Singularity is Near and Theodore Sider’s Riddles of Existence, as well as essays including John Searle’s “Minds, Brains, and Programs,” Susan Schneider’s “Alien Minds,” and David Lewis’ “Paradoxes of Time Travel.”

Introduction to Logic

I’ve taught a variety of logic courses, varied by level of study and emphasis in material. I taught Introduction to Logic at Medgar Evers College, which was structured as a survey course. I presented students with material broadly focused on structures of reasoning and argumentation, distinctions between inductive and deductive arguments, analyzing and evaluating these styles, informal fallacies, and various types of deductive argument. 

Formal Logic and Informal Logic

Both Informal Logic and Formal Logic courses were taught as separate, intermediary courses at WCSU. Both courses include an initial module addressing the basic structures of arguments and a final module covering analogical, legal, and moral reasoning, the logical issues in statistics, as well as hypothetical and scientific reasoning. For Informal Logic, the bulk of the semester, the second module, is given to analyzing and evaluating logical fallacies as situated in four categories, the fallacies of relevance, weak induction, ordinary language, as well as the fallacies of presumption, ambiguity, and illicit transference. In Formal Logic this second module is spent examining categorical propositions, categorical syllogisms, propositional logic, natural deduction, and predicate logic.

Critical Reading and Writing I and II

Offered at Parsons School of Design as a part of its First-Year Study curriculum, both Critical Reading and Writing 1 and 2 used art and design as anchors, addressing relevant historical and theoretical discourses while strengthening students’ critical reading and writing skills. At the broadest level, these classes were concerned with questions such as: what is the potential of art and design? How does form shape behavior? What can language do? And what relationship does it have to the visual world? What is criticality? How do we communicate and to whom—and with what? How do definitions change? What is agency? Action?

My current teaching interests include various possibilities for courses that either explore issues specific to an area of philosophy, examine the works of particular philosophers in-depth, or are thematic in structure. I’d enjoy teaching a metaphysics course, as either a survey course or some variation focused on a specific time period, exploring such authors as Avicenna and Averroes, Pico della Mirandola, Schelling, as well as William James, A. N. Whitehead, Alain Badiou, and David K. Lewis. I’d also be interested in structuring a course around the mind-body problem, and issues of free will and self in philosophy of mind, and I would deeply enjoy teaching a general survey course on the history of aesthetics. A course on contemporary modal logic, addressing its turn towards epistemology and issues surrounding approaches to possible worlds, and covering various authors such as: Chisholm, Hintikka, Plantinga, Kaplan, Lewis, Rescher, and Stalnaker, would be intriguing for me.

For courses covering specific authors, I’ve been working on teaching a course exploring Aristotle’s Physics and Metaphysics, and would revel in the opportunity to teach a course exploring the connections between Kant’s three Critiques. Building off of research for my dissertation, I’d also be interested in teaching courses covering Bloch’s Principle of Hope, or Heidegger’s Being and Time. Thematically, I’m interested in working out an environmental philosophy course that focuses on issues of justice. In this course I would want to explore various themes related to environmental justice, with attention given to issues surrounding diversity and inclusivity, and the voices that have been marginalized in prior environmental discussions. Similarly, I’m interested in eventually teaching a course I’m currently working on called Possibility and the Socio-Political, which would examine different interpretations of possibility — as participant, for example, in different accounts of history in Comte’s positivism and those of Hegel and Marx — in relation to socio-political issues, and the subsequent call for socio-political change.

Mentoring Goals and Experience

I look forward to any opportunities to work with students as a mentor, whether in assisting them with projects, research, or various application processes, or taking on independent study courses for them to meet academic requirements connected to their chosen major. I strive to be mindful of their strengths and interests while guiding them in ways that can help them reach their goals and achieve their potential.

While teaching at BMCC, I advised a student on the development of his research interests, and guided him on materials needed for applications to four-year institutions where he could further pursue his interest in philosophy. I’ve mentored four graduate students who are teaching or working as a teacher assistant for the first time, advising them as they developed course material and assignments, or grading rubrics. I’ve worked with numerous students at MSU, helping them with research topics and applications for the Honors Program. At WCSU, I set up an independent study course for five students, working with them one-on-one on issues in formal logic so they could meet their requirements for graduation.

For me, fostering an inclusive approach to diversity is personal. As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, I am familiar with some of the challenges one can face, and how these can impact one’s education. The life of the mind suffers when encountering socio-cultural intolerance or unawareness, biased traditions or undue obstacles or opposition that under-serve or under-represent individuals and communities. Though my experiences with adversity have helped me to develop a more open, adaptive, and empathetic approach to others, one that values diverse views and respects the experiences that inform them, it is a modest approach informed by the notion that one’s experiences with adversity do not necessarily translate to the unique difficulties others face, and that one can likewise unknowingly present unseen biases in steadfast need of further examination. I believe concernedly acknowledging this, further cultivating an appreciation for diversity and appropriately responding with inclusivity in the classroom and on campus, initially relies upon an openness to critical self-reflection on one’s own biases, and an awareness of how they may inform not just student-teacher interactions, but also the structuring of a course and its material.

Whether with university faculty and personnel, or in student-teacher interactions, I utilize a collaborative approach to exchanges and dialogue. With students, whether in class, small group settings, or one-on-one, I strive to meet them in an open and adaptive discourse that is learner-driven and instructor-guided. I’m attentive to questions and concerns they raise, and look to offer insight and suggestions that might aid in developing a mutually satisfying resolution. I look to promote critical thinking and dialogue through fostering and openly discussing unique responses that might call into question received views. To ensure equitability in grading, I use anonymized submissions for assignments

I understand not all students have had the same opportunities. In a philosophy course this can impact reading comprehension and writing skills, as well as effectively communicating one’s views to others. As these issues arise, I am vigilant and adaptive in looking for the best way to address them. I am supportive of those students struggling with material and assignments, and attentive to student progress so that I can reach out in a timely manner to those more reluctant to ask for assistance. When informed by disability services of a student’s educational needs, I actively work with the student to accommodate for these needs, and check in throughout the semester to ensure those needs are being effectively met.

Similarly, I bring an equitable and inclusive approach when assisting reading comprehension outside of class time. I utilize a student-accessible “How to Read Philosophy” page, upon which I present tips and tools for reading. Likewise, I create and post short informative videos wherein I apply these tips and tools while doing a close read of the material, thereby demonstrating how best to tackle dense philosophical texts. I also offer support pages as ways for students to reflect on central questions and consider the material in various contexts. In short, through student-teacher interactions and supplied resources, I aim to assist students for success, and to foster creative and innovative paths for connecting with the material on their own terms, and in their own way.

Integrating an Inclusive Approach

Similarly, I carry over this approach in the philosophical material I present in the class itself. I seek out those voices typically obscured by the more canonical tradition. I consider these crucial counterpoints to this tradition, points that not only enhance students’ experience with philosophy, but also open space for further dialogue beyond the uniformity or seamlessness such a notion of “tradition” can present. I work to continuously accent underrepresented voices in my curriculum, from feminist and postcolonial authors to the views voiced by various communities, e.g., the LGBTQIA+, LatinX, API, BIPOC. 

In my ethics and introductory courses I underscore feminist and postcolonial critiques of traditional ethical models. I draw out lines of intersection while students engage philosophical material related to race and racism, sexism and rape, as well as challenges to orthodox, western conceptions of justice from authors in the global south and east. I create modules that focus on topical questions of equality, justice, diversity and inclusion from authors representing a plurality of communities in all my intermediary courses, i.e., environmental ethics, bioethics, and ethics and technology. 

Currently, I am creating an environmental ethics course that spotlights issues related to justice and marginalized communities facing environmental crises. Similarly, I’m interested in eventually teaching a course I’m designing entitled Possibility and the Socio-Political, which intends to read the history of identity politics through a lens of possibility while utilizing various critical theories, from feminist and queer theories to philosophy of race, etc. In all my classes, I look to challenge students with “non-traditional” authors so that both first-time and seasoned philosophy students might find personal resonance in alternative voices, and appreciate more the expansive and nuanced nature of what philosophy is, and what it can be.

Diverse Experiences

I was once a non-traditional student, having attended various community colleges in my youth, finally returning to college in my 30s. These experiences have helped me to develop a deep appreciation for the plurality of academic interests students have. Whether they aim for a particular course of study, or are simply exploring their options, my goal as an instructor is to help them find the best path to success while in my class, and to accommodate those struggling with obstacles and/or obligations outside of school, whether personal or systemic.

Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to teach a variety of students at various universities and community colleges. I’ve taught many who were first in their family to attend college. I sought to assist those who struggled with home environments that presented obstacles for their education. Some I mentored as they searched for ways to align burgeoning academic interests with their practical needs. Similarly, I’ve taught many older students new to the US, most with little to no interest in philosophy and only requiring a course for their specific degree. In these instances, I sought ways to present abstract material in an approachable and effective manner, while accommodating individual student needs as they navigated multiple commitments outside of school.

Drawing from my own experiences, personal and academic, my goal is to establish a community of inquiry wherein students can openly explore a multiplicity of views and ideas. Through collaborative discussion, I seek to foster a supportive environment aimed at their success while conscientious of their unique experiences and viewpoints. I create support material and course structures that challenge  For me, fostering a culture of inclusion begins in acknowledging the existence of diversity and the simple fact that many encounter barriers to education, employment, and full participation in our community due to personal circumstances and unjust systemic influences. Thus, to address this by honoring diversity, and promoting inclusivity is of utmost importance.