I enjoy talking about, reading about, and writing about teaching. I enjoy looking at other teachers’ syllabi, assignments, teaching resources, etc. So here I share some of my own work on teaching and then link to some favorites.
My Syllabi
Click here for a list of my current and previous syllabi. (I teach a 3-3 load, so I got a good bunch of them.)
My Assignments
I have not shared all my assignments here, but I plan on sharing some.
Here is my version of the unessay (first taught in Fall 2015).
Here I discuss my initial attempt at assigning an unessay.
Here I describe an archive assignment.
Here I reflect on my faux primary source assignment, an assignment I’ve since tinkered with.
My Thoughts on Teaching
Here I explain why I take my students into the archives.
Here I talk about my favorite primary sources to teach. Here I talk about it again, focusing on non-text sources.
Here I reflect a bit on teaching the capstone in Religious Studies at my institution.
Here I think some on James Lang’s 2017 book Small Teaching.
More Resources!
As I enjoy reading about teaching, I’ve compiled a list here of some of my favorite teaching resources online. This list will perpetually be a work in progress.
Resources on/about Teaching
Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice, edited by Maurianne Adams, Lee Anne Bell, Dianne Goodman and Khyati Joshi, is a great resource. And its accompanying website is pretty rad.
The #Charlestonsyllabus project, developed after the white supremacy-motivated violence in June 2015, brings together wonderful resources on racism.
The open, peer-review site for Digital Pedagogies in the Humanities (Rebecca Davis, Matt Gold, Kathy Harris, and Jentry Sayers, eds.) is a great place to look for ideas on a wide range of topics.
“How Not to Teach Digital Humanities” was an essay by Ryan Cordell that helped me figure out how I wanted to try to teach Digital Humanities.
Resources on Syllabi
Tona Hangen’s post on the syllabus extreme makeover is what inspired me to rethink the layout and format of my syllabi.
Kevin Gannon (@thetattooedprof)’s series on DIY Syllabus published by Chronicle Vitae is fabulous.
This article from Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning makes a strong case about why the syllabus matters.
Accessible Syllabus makes a good case for why syllabi matter for empowering students.
The vault of syllabi from the Young Scholars of American Religion program at the Center for the Study of Religion & American Culture. A version of my American Christianities course will soon join the collection.
Resources for Teaching
Textbooks are not always cheap, so free, open-access sources are great in the classroom. Dr. Hilary Green at the University of Alabama has curated a great list of digital resources.
Resources on Assignments
A reflective essay from Dr. Kelly J. Baker on having students do ethnography in an undergraduate class.
Dr. Sarah Dees took an undergraduate class into a museum for an assignment and wrote about it.
Religious Studies-Specific Resources
Teaching New and Alternative Religious Movements (published by AAR’s Religious Studies News) is a great resource on just that.