First, let me provide an overview of the teaching that I’ve been able to do here. \u00a0One aspect of teaching at ACU that has been interesting and somewhat unexpected has been the variety of courses that I have had the opportunity to teach in a relatively short period of time. \u00a0When I was initially hired in 2010, I was told to expect a typical semester to include three survey courses (Civilizations I or II, in my case) and one upper level. \u00a0As it turned out, I had that schedule only once–in my very first semester. \u00a0In all other semesters, I have had multiple upper levels, or some combination of upper levels, Core classes, and surveys. \u00a0This is why I provide so many syllabi below–I have prepared and taught thirteen\u00a0distinct courses in five and a half\u00a0years. \u00a0This teaching load has allowed me to rapidly expand my arsenal of pedagogies and my knowledge of the subjects I teach. \u00a0My confidence in the classroom has grown as I have taken on each new course. \u00a0Because of these opportunities to teach in such a variety of settings–classes ranging in size from three to 105 students, skills-based courses and content-driven courses, team-taught and alone, online and face-to-face–I unequivocally feel that it is in the area of teaching that I have grown and improved the most since coming to ACU.<\/p>\n
The History and Global Studies Department’s curriculum includes five major history surveys: \u00a0American History I and II, Civilizations I and II, and, recently added, a Modern World History survey; two majors courses, Historical Methods and Historiography Senior Capstone; and a variety of\u00a0selections in upper level coursework, which allows students to develop more specific geographic and chronological focus. \u00a0I teach both of the Civilization surveys regularly, and taught\u00a0both Historical Methods and the Historiography Capstone for the first time in the 2013-14 academic year (while Dr. Tracy Shilcutt, who usually takes those courses, was teaching at CitySquare in Dallas).<\/p>\n
The upper-level history courses I teach include, proceeding chronologically: Renaissance and Reformation Europe (c. 1350-1648), Europe in the Long Nineteenth Century (1789-1918), Recent Europe\/Europe in Crisis (1918-present), and Modern Britain\/British Imperialism (1688-present). \u00a0I also have taught History of Asia, a much broader study of China, India, and Japan that ranges from the prehistoric era to the present, and in 2014, I\u00a0revamped that class as the Special Topics course Mongols, Poppies, and Satyagraha: \u00a0China, India, and the West since the Fourteenth Century. \u00a0In the Fall of 2015, I am teaching our new World History Survey, HIST 131, for the first time.<\/p>\n
Finally, I also teach in the University Core. \u00a0I taught Core 120 until the shift to 210, and in the Fall of 2015 I am currently teaching Core 210 (Identity and Community) with Dr. Lauren Lemley for the fifth time. \u00a0I have twice served as a speaker for the Cornerstone Spotlight, as well. \u00a0You can watch a video of my Spotlight speech on the Humanities, a collaborative effort with Dr. Jeremy Elliott, here: \u00a0Elliott Spotlight Humanities<\/a>.<\/p>\n Outside of the normal academic calendar, I have taught a January Intensive short course on Nineteenth-Century Europe, and one history survey online during the summer. \u00a0I expect to write and teach more online history surveys in the future as our department works to maintain and increase student enrollment. \u00a0In the spring of 2015, I also team-taught an Honors Colloquium with Dr. Joshua Brokaw of the Biology Department.<\/p>\n Syllabi for all of these courses are available at the links below. \u00a0In a few cases, I have provided syllabi from earlier and later years in my career so that readers may see the adjustments I have made over time. \u00a0I have also included both the catalog titles of the courses and the more descriptive names so that readers should have no trouble connecting the appropriate syllabus to relevant student evaluations, which are available both on the front page of the portfolio and in the Student Evaluations page within the Teaching section.<\/p>\n General Education and Survey Courses<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Core120_Spring2011<\/a> (Human Nature and Identity, my first experience with Core, taught with Dr. Greg Straughn and Dr. Susan Lewis)<\/p>\n Core120_Fall2011<\/a>\u00a0(Human Nature and Identity, with Dr. Lauren Lemley)<\/p>\n CORE 210_Fall2013<\/a>\u00a0(the new combined course Identity and Community, with Lauren Lemley)<\/p>\n CORE 210 Syllabus F14<\/a> (the most recent iteration of Identity and Community in Fall 2014, with Lauren Lemley)<\/p>\n HIST 117\u00a0CivI_Fall2010<\/a>\u00a0(Western Civilizations from prehistory to the 16th c.,\u00a0the first semester I taught at ACU)<\/p>\n HIST 117\u00a0CivI_Fall2012<\/a>\u00a0(Western Civ prehistory to the 16th c., updated with a new project and some new pedagogies)<\/p>\n HIST 118\u00a0CivII_Spring2012<\/a>\u00a0(Western Civilizations from the 15th c. to the present, Spring 2012)<\/p>\n HIST 118 Online\u00a0SummerOnlineCivII_2013<\/a>\u00a0(Western Civ, 15th c. to the present, Summer 2013, written with Dr. Tracy Shilcutt and implemented with a great deal of help from Shannon Smith)<\/p>\n HIST 117 HIST117_Sp15TR<\/a>\u00a0(my most recent Civ I syllabus, from Spring 2015, with some new contemporary readings and the Parthenon Debate added)<\/p>\n HIST 131\u00a0HIST131<\/a>_Fall15 (Global Connections since1400, currently teaching Fall 2015)<\/p>\n Majors courses and upper levels<\/strong>:<\/p>\n HIST 495\u00a0History of Asia<\/a><\/p>\n HIST 419\u00a0NineteenthCenturyEurope<\/a><\/p>\n HIST 419\u00a0NineteenthCenturyEurope_JanIntensive<\/a>\u00a0(short course)<\/p>\n HIST 474\u00a0Recent Europe<\/a>\u00a0(now in the catalog as Europe in Crisis)<\/p>\n HIST 440\u00a0Modern Britain<\/a>\u00a0(now in the catalog as HIST 418 British Empire)<\/p>\n HIST 472\u00a0Renaissance and Reformation<\/a><\/p>\n HIST 353\u00a0Historical Methods<\/a>\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0This course is required for all history and history teaching majors.<\/p>\n HIST 459\u00a0Historiography Seminar<\/a>\u00a0This senior capstone course is required for all history majors.<\/p>\n HIST 440 ST: Mongols, Poppies, and Satyagraha<\/a>: \u00a0China, India, and the West since the Fourteenth Century (this course overhauled and will likely replace HIST 495\u00a0History of Asia)<\/p>\n Colloquium:<\/strong><\/p>\n Evolution HON406-416 Syllabus<\/a>: \u00a0An honors colloquium on evolution and society, taught with Dr. Joshua Brokaw of the Department of Biology in spring 2015<\/p>\n You will find information about\u00a0specific pedagogical adjustments, reflections on specific lessons I gleaned from teaching some of these courses, and student evaluations of these courses in the coming pages of the Teaching Section.<\/p>\n >Next Section: \u00a0Philosophy of Teaching<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" First, let me provide an overview of the teaching that I’ve been able to do here. \u00a0One aspect of teaching at ACU that has been interesting and somewhat unexpected has been the variety of courses that I have had the … Continue reading