Teaching Philosophy

As an instructor, my first objective is to expose students to different ways of thinking about the world. As many of the international students coming from the so-called Global South, I had the dream of seeing my country in better shape one day. Until college, the models of national success I was familiar with all came from Europe or North America. It was not until I began to take courses that dealt with critical social theory that it finally occurred to me that these models should not be seen as universal, in a one-size-fits-all style. I realized then that critical thinking is not only about questioning the status quo, but also understanding the very terms we use to make sense of reality. Inspired by those courses, I prioritize a pedagogical approach that centers on thinking critically about one’s world.

My second, related, teaching objective is to enhance students’ academic experience by diversifying the curriculum as a way of addressing existing gaps in the humanities and social sciences. As an example, because my previous institution did not offer courses that focused on the writings and experiences of women and LGBTQ people of color or from the global south, such as Gloria Anzaldúa, Audre Lorde, and José Muñoz, I created a course outside of my dissertation research focus to address this gap.

Moreover, with the help of an unconventional Women’s Studies course I took in college, I began to develop my own vocabulary to make sense of my identity as a queer person of color, and of the fact that the identities available to resist dominant norms often did not account for intersectional sensibilities. As a result of my college experiences, I pay special attention to the ways in which minority students may feel silenced, and foster an environment where they feel empowered to develop their own vocabularies. This goes from encouraging Latinx students to express their ideas in Spanglish, to smaller gestures such as adapting a class activity for the needs of students with disabilities, or making the majority of course materials available free of cost.

I foster dialogical interaction in the classroom with design choices that encourage critical discussion, and that represent diverse voices. For instance, my syllabi include interdisciplinary texts ranging from Literature to Philosophy, and mixed media sources such as videos, music, and art from authors of color and from the Global South. For example, in my course Dissent in Latin America, we watched the Chilean film No, which explores the connection between emotions and voting behavior in the context of the Pinochet dictatorship. This was helpful for students to make connections with the US presidential elections and visualize a perspective that is harder to convey through academic articles. In addition, based on my previous experience as an instructor, a few activities have worked particularly well in fostering dialogical interaction. One activity asks students to lead, in pairs, the first half of a meeting or the weekly discussion board, with the objective to give them a chance to delve further into a topic of their interest, and also to develop the ability to raise questions and facilitate discussion. This assignment often sparks students’ creativity when it comes to finding effective ways to stimulate discussion: I have seen students design activities from role plays to interactive quizzes that incorporate the use of cell phones. In other courses, I have asked students to submit questions about the course material before every meeting, and we used their own questions to guide discussion. I noticed that students who are shy also had their concerns addressed this way because they had a chance to ask questions as well. The constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and online teaching have encouraged me to offer the option of fulfilling assignments in audiovisual format, a change that was welcomed by students and has helped make my teaching more inclusive to different types of learners. More importantly, striving to create a dialogical classroom space has made me grow as a person and educator because it has challenged me to let go of the expectation that I should have full control of the space.

I usually give students the option to either write conventional final essays or do independent final projects. Two of the most remarkable projects I have seen were one in which a student engaged with her brother’s autism under a new light by exploring the concept of neurodiversity; and another in which a group of five students produced a series of interviews with faculty, students, and community members by asking them on camera some of the same questions we raised in class, such as: "is it possible to cultivate receptivity to difference?"

Outside of the classroom, I encourage students to continue the dialogue with each other and with me, and I make sure to be widely available for personal meetings. I also enjoy taking part in events on campus, and am happy to collaborate with student groups, as I have extensive experience with campus life at both my undergraduate and graduate institutions. For instance, at Vassar College I served as a board member of a campus organization called Poder Latino, which supported the Latinx community on campus. At Johns Hopkins, I worked as a graduate student liaison for the Program in Latin American Studies, a position which entailed organizing an annual graduate student conference, hosting monthly meetings, and advocating for students’ interests across different disciplines.

Under Courses, you will find a brief description of a few of the courses I have taught, with a link to their syllabus.