Teaching is supporting a person who wants to learn something. It may involve providing structure, practical as well as intellectual, it may consist of egging them on or sharing what I've learned from experience. But it always involves creating an environment conducive to questions, exchange, and learning. To teach well, you have to take down your defenses.
I've been teaching and mentoring since 1990, both in formal and informal settings. At Harvard College and the Harvard Extension School; as a public history volunteer, creating programs, doing tours, giving talks, and moderating discussion sessions; and as a grant officer at Mass Humanities, advising and supporting grant applicants writing proposals for humanities-based programs on any topic, giving talks, teaching about the grant-writing process around the state, organizing programs, and moderating discussion sessions. I have won teaching awards and an award for educational programming.
Teaching
- “The Ask,” a workshop in the art of humanities grantsmanship, taught as the opportunity arose around the state, occasionally in collaboration with an NEH program officer
- Grant application mentoring and advising.
- Short lecture introduction and discussion moderating for statewide programs including Reading Frederick Douglass, An (Un)Civil Action: A closer look at violence in Massachusetts History (film and discussion), and Traces of the Trade: Massachusetts and the Economy of Slavery (film and discussion)
- Short lectures focusing on the Plainfield Historical Society Collection and Plainfield history; short-lecture introduction, walking tours, and discussion for Hidden Walls, Hidden Mills.
- History of Women in America [2002]
- Freshman Seminar: #1 On the Bestseller List: A Self-Help Guide to American Culture [1998, 1999]
- Senior tutorial with honors’ thesis, History and Literature and Women’s Studies, on a wide range of topics in American history and literature, one or two students per year [1992-2000]
- Individual (“Junior”) Tutorials, History and Literature on a wide range of topics in American history and literature, one to three students per year [1991-2000]
- Sophomore Tutorial, History and Literature (team-taught seminar-style introductions to the field, each with its own syllabus)
- From Enlightenment to Democratic Capitalism: A New Individual in a New Community [with Robert Allison, 1994-1995]
- Selected Topics in American History and Literature [with Mark Peterson, 1995-1996]
- Encountering History and Literature [with Fred Dalzell, 1997-1998]
- Case Studies in American History and Literature [with Beth Nichols, 1998-1999, 1999-2000]
- Workshops and oral exam practice sessions for teaching staff and students in History and Literature. Concept and implementation[1996-2000]
- Myth of America, Sacvan Bercovitch (core), teaching fellow [1992, 1993]
- American Women’s History, Ellen Fitzpatrick (College and Harvard University Extension School), head teaching fellow [1990, 1991]
- The Nineteenth Century American Novel, teaching fellow [1990]
Education in Education
- Master Classes for Educators, Harvard Business School
- Case Method Teaching Seminar [1993]
- Discussion Leadership Skills [1992]
- Graduate Writing Fellow Derek Bok Center (seminar in teaching with writing across the curriculum combined with position as writing fellow in residence houses and departments) [1993-1995]
- Creating support materials for international teachers (video, workshops). Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University [1993-1995]
- Reading Frederick Douglass, Federation of State Humanities Councils' Helen and Martin Schwartz Prize for “Best Overall Program," Federation of State Humanities Councils, 2012.
- Stephen Botein Teaching Prize in History and Literature (student-nominated department prize for best teacher in History and Literature, may be granted no more than once) [1998]
- Thomas Temple Hoopes Prize for Excellence in the Art of Teaching (Harvard College): "To undergraduates and their supervisors, awards for excellence in scholarly work and research." [1993, 2000 --> with the caveat that in 2000 I was not the official recipient of the prize, but the actual advisor, nonetheless, on a prizewinning thesis]
- Distinction in Teaching Award, Harvard University [1991]