Table of Contents

Teaching Philosophy

My teaching begins from the premise that classrooms should be spaces where students not only learn theories but also reimagine engaging with the worlds those theories describe. As a first-generation scholar whose work bridges Science and Technology Studies (STS), sociology of labor, and media studies, I design courses that encourage students to think critically about the technologies shaping their everyday lives — from drones to algorithms to the infrastructures of social media.

In practice, this means integrating live demonstrations of technologies, hands-on ethnographic exercises, and reflexive discussions about power and inequality. In my Technology & Society course, for example, students map the unseen labor behind everyday apps; in Mass Media & Popular Culture, they analyze memes, journalistic writing and cinema as cultural artifacts. I aim to help students connect abstract theory to their own lived experiences, fostering critical empathy and intellectual courage. This commitment was most recently recognized with a Distinction in Teaching Award at Nazareth University (2025).

Research drone used in classroom teaching

A civilian drone that I'd come across in my fieldwork, now repurposed as a teaching tool to help students think about surveillance, play, and everyday technologies. (Author's own image)

Teaching Experience

Syllabi and detailed assignments for the courses listed below are available upon request (Please use the Contact page). I was the Instructor of Record for all the courses listed below (unless mentioned otherwise). Most of these courses were taught in person, but some of them were taught online (either synchronously via zoom, or asynchronously).

Nazareth University (2024–25)
  • Sociology of Work (Upper-level undergraduate course)
  • Technology & Society (Introductory course, multiple sections)
  • Mass Media & Popular Culture (Upper-level undergraduate course)
  • Intro to Sociology (Introductory course, multiple sections)
University of Oregon (2022–24)
  • Sociology of Digital Labor (Upper-level undergraduate course)
  • Intro to Science & Technology Studies (Upper-level undergraduate course)
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2019–22)
  • Environmental Sociology (Upper-level undergraduate course)
Other Roles
  • Term Instructor, India Studies (University of California Education Abroad Program, 2018)
  • Summer School Instructor, Urban Sociology (Manipal University, 2018)
  • Multiple TA roles in a wide range of Sociology courses (Ashoka University, UO, UWM)

Professional Development and SoTL

My approach to professional development goes beyond attending workshops or completing certifications; I treat them as laboratories for testing new ways of making sociology resonate with students’ lives. I contribute to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) through peer-reviewed teaching resources (e.g., ASA TRAILS) and reflective pieces on digital methods and inclusive pedagogy. These experiences and engagements continually reshape how I approach the classroom: every new course is an experiment in making sociology feel urgent, human, and alive.