Teaching Statement
I take a long view of ‘media’ as the process of translation by which people come to understand and transmit sensory, experiential, factual, and analytic information. In this view, there is nothing that is ‘unmediated,’ but rather there are only different forms, structures, and levels of mediation that cut across all domains of experience and all fields of knowledge. Accordingly, my approach to teaching media art is necessarily interdisciplinary and humanities-based. In classes structured as studio-seminars, I prompt students to consider the grammar, structure, and political and economic histories of their chosen media while helping them to develop skills as makers.
The studio-seminar approach combines technical skill-building, aesthetic development, historical awareness and critical reflection around a particular topic or practice. Readings, screenings, guest lectures, field trips and discussions offer students insight into what art has been and what it can do, while workshops and demonstrations give students the foundational skills they need to put these insights into practice. The studio-seminar model also allows for non-traditional forms of knowledge generation; I prompt students to participate in their education by asking them to lead class discussions, write a study guide, or organize an exhibition. Opportunities for brainstorming, proposing, workshopping, and critiquing model methods for generating and refining ideas that will serve the students creative development whether they choose to remain in the arts or not.
I’ve found that my students learn best in an environment that is broadly relevant and responsive. As I have gained confidence as a teacher, I find I instruct less and facilitate more. I try to get to know the whole student and to find multiple points of entry to a topic through their existing interests, prior experiences, and creative talents. I make a point to incorporate current events, just-released information, and material I may have encountered at a symposium or exhibition into the class. As much as I make my teaching relevant to the broader world, I also am highly responsive to the dynamics of the world inside the classroom. I incorporate opportunities for student feedback into my plan for the semester and often take time to reflect on critique dynamics and class climate with my students. Having worked in very diverse environments, I am particularly sensitive to the age, class, gender, and racial dynamics that can surface in the classroom and adjust my strategies of classroom management and out-of-class mentoring to make it a safe place for everyone to participate and learn. I count myself successful as a teacher when class meetings are challenging, supportive, and exciting, when students push themselves and each other beyond the requirements of the class, and when the projects that result combine form and approach in ways that surprise and delight even me.