Teaching

I have been an instructor of record for courses on early modern philosophy, logic/critical thinking, and ethics. And I have worked as a Teaching Assistant leading discussion sections for political philosophy, ethics, and ancient philosophy.

Teaching Portfolio Materials

Courses Taught (details below)

As Instructor of Record:

History of Western Philosophy: Modern Period

Reasoning and Argument

(3x) Ethics in the 21st Century (college course for high school students)

Introduction to Ethics (with Prison Education Project)


As Teaching Assistant:

Ancient Foundations of Western Thought

(2x) Ethical Theory and Practice

Freedom, Equality, and Social Justice

History of Western Philosophy: Modern Period (PHIL 320). Spring 2023, USC. Instructor of record.

As a Mentored Teaching Fellow of USC's Center for Excellence in Teaching. 25 students. In-person.

Syllabus

Student Evaluations

Handout: Timeline of course readings alongside major historical events; given to students during the first week.

PHIL 320 - Early Modern Philosophy Timeline.pdf

Pre/Post Course Survey. Students answered and then discussed the same survey questions, related to the course content, on the first and last day of class.

Asynchronous Course Videos: Introductory material for Kant's Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics. Created for students to watch prior to each of the four Kant readings. Transcripts.

Class Recordings: Kant Day 1 (with some Hume) and Wollstonecraft Day 1. To preserve student privacy, all student comments and contributions to discussion have been edited out. If you have any questions or would like more information about these class sessions, please contact me. 

For Kant slides see here. For Wollstonecraft slides see here. 

For better quality video of Kant class see here. For better quality video of Wollstonecraft class see here.

Reasoning and Argument (PHIL 122A-B). Fall 2020, USC. Instructor of record.

Two half-semester courses that could be taken non-consecutively. 22 students in the first half (122A); 16 students in the second half (122B). Online.

Syllabus

Student Evaluations: 122B 122A

Assignment: During an early unit on informal fallacies, students were asked to analyze and evaluate specific arguments from Jonathan Swan's interview of Donald Trump from August 2020. Interview uploaded to Vimeo (originally on YouTube)

Assignment 2 for 122.pdf

Assignment: After beginning predicate logic, students received another 2020 U.S. election-related assignment. Four questions about truth trees were to be completed in groups. The other five asked students to reconstruct arguments from the Vice Presidential debate, translate them into predicate logic, and evaluate them. Video of debate.

Assignment 7 for 122B.pdf

Asynchronous Course Video: Truth Tables. Created for students to watch before class. They came to class with questions about the material and ready to work through example problems as a group.

Asynchronous Course Video: Updating on Evidence and the Base Rate Fallacy. Created for students to watch before class, alongside a required reading from David Manley's Reason Better textbook.

A student's column from the Daily Trojan, USC's student newspaper. The student draws on course content and credits the course for helping to inspire the piece.

(3x) Ethics in the 21st Century: Business, Politics, and Technology (CORE 195). Summers 2019, 2020, 2021, USC. Co-instructor of record.

For USC's Summer Programs for High School Students. I designed and co-taught this course with David Clark in 2019, Jasmine Gunkel in 2020, and Laura Siscoe in 2021. 15-30 students: high schoolers seeking college credit. 2019 in-person, 2020 and 2021 online.

Syllabus (2021)

Student Evaluations: 2021 2020 2019

Handout: 2021 voting on a desert island activity.

Handout: 2019 voting activity.

2021 Voting on a Desert Island.pdf
Original Voting System Activity.pdf

Introduction to Ethics. Fall 2020, USC Prison Education Project. Co-instructor of record.

Taught incarcerated students in the Santa Fe Springs Transitional Reentry Program. Very small class: attendance varied and students were not permitted to have the classroom camera on. Online.

Ancient Foundations of Western Thought (PHIL 104). Fall 2022, USC. Teaching Assistant.

Two discussion sections. Lead instructor: John Dreher. Mostly in-person.

Discussion Sections Syllabus

Student Evaluations: Section 1 Section 2

Ethical Theory and Practice (PHIL 260). Fall 2019, USC. Teaching Assistant.

Two discussion sections. Lead instructor: Robin Jeshion. Took over from another TA just before halfway point of the semester. In-person.

Student Evaluations: Section 1 Section 2

Handout/Guided Notes: Stanford Prison Experiment

Ethical Theory and Practice (PHIL 260). Spring 2019, USC. Teaching Assistant.

Two discussion sections. Lead instructor: Edwin McCann. In-person.

Student Evaluations: Section 1 Section 2

Freedom, Equality, and Social Justice (PHIL 174). Fall 2018, USC. Teaching Assistant.

Two discussion sections. Lead instructor: Jonathan Quong. In-person.

Student Evaluations: Section 1 Section 2

Assignment: Shelby on Punishment (and 2018 Election)