I teach because I believe everyone should not only develop critical thinking, effective communication, and perspective taking skills to function in our media-saturated world, but should also learn to effectively and ethically express their thoughts without devaluing those with whom they disagree.

Adrienne Rich writes,

“In teaching we need to be acutely conscious of the kind of tool we want our students to have available, to understand how it has been used against them, and to do all we can to insure that language will not someday be used by them to keep others silent and powerless.”

“Teaching Language in Open Admissions” 273

As I enrich students’ research methods, push them creatively, and convince them to hold themselves and each other to high standards as a learning community, I continually facilitate dialogue on both the empowering and pernicious aspects of language and visual rhetorics and the media and institutions that rely on them. I encourage students to expand their understanding of design by undertaking design. I foster a sense of belonging in the classroom, that this is a space for trying out new ideas, not a space of judgment; making mistakes is a crucial part of the learning process.

I come from a background that values unconventional methods, and I embrace this through strategies such as having students set their own learning outcomes, role-play as stakeholders in an environmental crisis, or conduct a content analysis of Cards Against Humanity. My teaching is project-based and collaborative, and students build skills in written composition, visual communication, and verbal presentation.

Supervision Philosophy

“The highest form of research is essentially play.”

N.V. Scarfe, “Play is Education” (2013) p.8

In its freedom with and within a system of rules, play facilitates innovation, discovery through design. As a researcher and a supervisor, I find myself anchored to the idea of research as play as though on a long tether, allowing drift and exploration through many disciplines, technologies, and methodologies as a project comes into focus. Effective supervision is more than managing deadlines and adhering to schedules, though these are of course important. The undertaking of a project in itself will change a project, and as it takes shape, it is important to experiment with theories, playtest ideas, and be open to changes that will strengthen scholarship. I approach supervising as a guide on the side, providing support, advice, and resources in a spirit of enthusiasm for the work and its meaningfulness to my mentee and to the world. I will not insist on a direction or drive the boat, but I will be the current that keeps it afloat and moving.

My expertise lies in interaction design and critical theory about media and inclusive representation. I am always attuned to the impact a project will have on its audiences. I am a strong writer and can give excellent support on the writing involved in completing graduate work.

I help mentees:

• Build a theoretical foundation of research, particularly theories of media, art, literature, philosophy, and design;
• Identify and undertake appropriate methodologies for design;
• Define a project’s purpose and goals;
• Articulate the audience(s), meaning(s), and impacts of a project;
• Write the exegesis;
• Connect with industry and scholarly networks;
• Promote the project in appropriate venues;
• Find resources for help with technical aspects of the work; and
• Develop strategies for getting inspired and staying motivated through an extended project.
• I am a novice with technical tools like Blender and Unreal Engine 5, and I cannot directly help with programming languages, but I can assist mentees in connecting with resources to address issues with technical aspects of their work.

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Designing a class to be more inclusive benefits everyone–including the professor. Taking the time to fully consider the whole student experience–ability, neurodivergence, race, gender, sexuality, mental health–can improve daily life in the classroom across the board.

One example is how to evaluate class participation; speaking up in class is not the only way that students can demonstrate their engagement in course content, but in many classes, it is the only factor by which students are assessed. A more inclusive policy would also account for student attentiveness and participation during small group work or might offer to collect notes or use an ‘exit ticket’ as a measure of engagement. Relying on more than one metric helps.

In every syllabus, I include the following statement between the course description and learning outcomes:

I am committed to affirming the identities, realities and voices of all students, especially those from historically marginalized or underrepresented backgrounds. This course values the use of person-centered language, preferred gender pronouns, and respect for the experiences of others.

In my classes, which I think of as micro-communities, I set an expectation of mutual respect in discussions that allows for dissenting opinions, difficult questions, and inclusion of marginalized perspectives. I use a model of brave spaces, which encourages people to say the hard things that want to be said, bringing up the elephant in the room, so to speak. Allowing ourselves to be uncomfortable (as is inevitable) and openly acknowledge and name that discomfort, helps us make progress.

Words have power, and they effect the community in a classroom, so when things ‘come out wrong’ or someone expresses an idea that hurts, it is important to address it immediately. One way I do this is through a frame of ‘calling-in’ as opposed to ‘calling-out.’ The classroom should be a place to experiment with ideas and language and to revise our ways of thinking in the presence of nuance–the exact opposite of the social media spaces that generated call-out culture. While it is important to hold people accountable for their words and actions, a classroom is a place for learning, not punishment. Calling-in means pointing out something that has or could cause harm and then discussing why that is, how to apologize, and what to do next. It is important to acknowledge how emotionally charged such a scenario can be, even directly name and address the emotions in the room, which likely include anger, shame, guilt, or antipathy. The idea of calling-in is for these emotions to lead, not to shutting down, but to opening up a conversation in service of repairing the community relationship.

Whether the course content deals explicitly with intersectionality or not, issues of ethics in media representations, production, and use are always relevant in media studies and communication courses. Topics like these can be daunting to undertake, but clear conversation explaining that no one is an expert–even me–and that when unfortunate word choice, problematic terminology, or intolerant ideologies crop up in class, we commit to address them–calmly, in a spirit of improving our understanding and critical thinking, together as a community. It won’t always be perfect, and mistakes happen–I make it clear that I make them, too. But we forgive each other and try to learn. It’s what school is for, after all.

Inclusion By Design

Inclusion work is never done; there is always much more to learn and do in order to help us all become the best versions of ourselves, in our work and as a campus community. I have helped in the past by facilitating anti-racist and disability-focused reading groups for faculty and staff. I also consult with game design companies interested in improving the inclusivity of their IPs. Inclusive design takes many forms in interactive media, and having an outside perspective on a project can be eye-opening.