TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of History and Jewish Studies, 2023
University at Albany, State University of New York
Originated and taught classes on the history of the American Jewish Experience.
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Antisemitism Retreat Leadership, 2019, 2021
Academy for Jewish Religion, Yonkers, NY
Originated graduate course Antisemitism: Then and Now, on the subject of historical and contemporary antisemitism and methods of response for future Jewish communal leadership.
Planning Committee and Coordination of Topics for Retreat/Conference on Antisemitism
Presentation of a two-part series on the History and Context of Antisemitism.
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of History, 2017-2020
Bronx Community College, City University of New York
Originated and taught classes (both writing intensive and otherwise) on the history of the modern world.
Prepared and presented in ongoing campus-wide public lectures on Antisemitism, Intolerance, and Nationalism in the wake of the Tree of Life Synagogue Attack and Pushing Back Against Hate (President’s Conversation Series)
Adjunct Instructor (and GTA), Department of History, 2013-2016
Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
HIS 1400: World History since 1945 (as both GTA and Sole Instructor)
HIS 1050: American Civilization since World War II (as Sole instructor)
HIS 1000: World Civilization to 1500 (as GTA)
Education Development Specialist, 2012-2013
Holocaust Memorial Center, Farmington Hills, MI
Creation and development of Anne Frank based Curriculum, Teaching Guide, and Materials
Consulted on Holocaust Museum content, fundraising, and distribution materials related to Anne Frank curricula and Chestnut Tree Sapling Exhibit
Development, coordination, and implementation of two summer teaching seminars
Participation in and presentation at the HMCZFC summer Holocaust Educator Conference
Courses Taught:
Bronx Community College, City University of New York:
History of the Modern World (spring 2020, spring 2019, spring/fall 2018, spring/fall 2017)
Wayne State University:
World History since 1945 (summer 2014, winter 2015, winter 2016)
American Civilization since World War II (winter 2014)
World History since 1945 (winter 2014, fall 2013, fall 2015)
World Civilization to 1500 (fall 2014)
Prepared Courses:
History of the Modern World
World History Since 1945
American Civilization Since World War II
World Civilization to 1500
History of the Holocaust
Culture and the Holocaust
History of Jewish America
European Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict
Statement of Teaching Philosophy:
I have been teaching world and American history courses since the fall of 2013, first at Wayne State University and presently at Bronx Community College. Though each course I have taught has been a survey course intended to meet general education requirements, my students have varied greatly in their interests and educational backgrounds. Regardless of their educational background, I employ the same teaching philosophy and techniques, trying to get students to actively engage with the course material. My philosophy of teaching is best summarized by the idea that students will best learn by the act of “doing history.” I structure my classes based on the idea that history is a discipline requiring the cultivation of skills, not rote memorization of facts, dates, and figures. I combine lecture with primary source analysis and in-class workshops to develop the skills of historical practice. Though I teach historical material through readings and lecture (I believe there is still great value in the lecture format) I workshop the skills required to actually learn in a lecture environment, regularly assessing classroom skills like analytical thinking, critical reading, and note-taking. My primary goal is not to have all students leave having memorized specific dates and names, but to send them away with the skills to think like historians and a general knowledge of the class material. Though higher level classes require less hand-holding in the early stages of developing the historians craft, all levels benefit from the mix of lecture and in-class exercises and discussions.
Rendering Teaching Philosophy into Practice: The History Survey Course:
I have spent several years developing my teaching philosophy and determining best methods to execute it in the history survey course. Teaching non-history majors to think like historians is both the goal of, and the motivation for, the above philosophy. Students in survey courses tend to take the class to fulfil a college requirement, not to indulge in a personal interest in history, or even as a voluntary elective. These students generally believe that history courses are about rote memorization, so arrive with neither the skills nor the enthusiasm that undergraduate history majors possess. I prefer not to see these students as a challenge to change the minds of those who are sure they detest history, but as an opportunity to make connections between the skills of history and their own respective disciplines. From the start of each survey course, I make an effort to showcase the marketable and transferrable skills of the historian’s craft. Approaching the survey in this way has helped me to engage students even if they believe that the survey is irrelevant or uninteresting when they initially arrive. As one student put it, “Although history is not my favorite, the teacher helped make it interesting which helped me learn.” I see the survey course as the gateway to historical thinking and to a love of history, as it serves to attract potential history majors and to develop skills helpful for whatever major (and career) students choose to pursue.
My methods in the classroom reflect the above goals and philosophy. If students are to “do history” in a survey course, they need the materials of the craft. For this reason, though I assign a textbook to support the lectures and provide context, the majority of their readings are primary sources and essays by historians which address historical questions and debates. All of these sources become the materials that students will evaluate, analyze, and discuss in the classroom and in their assignments. By evaluating these sources, students learn how to critically analyze historical evidence and engage in historical debates.
Though most survey students do not decide to declare their history major and devote themselves to the field, they do leave with an understanding of the work that historians do, and the complexities of the field. At the end of term, I consider the class a success if students have learned useful thinking and writing skills, and understanding basic analytical methods for solving historical problems. Though many of my students find the material and subject difficult, they leave feeling that their hard work has amounted to real achievement. According to a recent freshman in one of my classes, “I cannot say the course was easy … [but] I was able to see my growth! Even though I hated the [papers] initially, it wasn’t too demanding … Overall, this was tough but I hope all my hard work paid off.”
University at Albany, State University of New York
Originated and taught classes on the history of the American Jewish Experience.
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Antisemitism Retreat Leadership, 2019, 2021
Academy for Jewish Religion, Yonkers, NY
Originated graduate course Antisemitism: Then and Now, on the subject of historical and contemporary antisemitism and methods of response for future Jewish communal leadership.
Planning Committee and Coordination of Topics for Retreat/Conference on Antisemitism
Presentation of a two-part series on the History and Context of Antisemitism.
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of History, 2017-2020
Bronx Community College, City University of New York
Originated and taught classes (both writing intensive and otherwise) on the history of the modern world.
Prepared and presented in ongoing campus-wide public lectures on Antisemitism, Intolerance, and Nationalism in the wake of the Tree of Life Synagogue Attack and Pushing Back Against Hate (President’s Conversation Series)
Adjunct Instructor (and GTA), Department of History, 2013-2016
Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
HIS 1400: World History since 1945 (as both GTA and Sole Instructor)
HIS 1050: American Civilization since World War II (as Sole instructor)
HIS 1000: World Civilization to 1500 (as GTA)
Education Development Specialist, 2012-2013
Holocaust Memorial Center, Farmington Hills, MI
Creation and development of Anne Frank based Curriculum, Teaching Guide, and Materials
Consulted on Holocaust Museum content, fundraising, and distribution materials related to Anne Frank curricula and Chestnut Tree Sapling Exhibit
Development, coordination, and implementation of two summer teaching seminars
Participation in and presentation at the HMCZFC summer Holocaust Educator Conference
Courses Taught:
Bronx Community College, City University of New York:
History of the Modern World (spring 2020, spring 2019, spring/fall 2018, spring/fall 2017)
Wayne State University:
World History since 1945 (summer 2014, winter 2015, winter 2016)
American Civilization since World War II (winter 2014)
World History since 1945 (winter 2014, fall 2013, fall 2015)
World Civilization to 1500 (fall 2014)
Prepared Courses:
History of the Modern World
World History Since 1945
American Civilization Since World War II
World Civilization to 1500
History of the Holocaust
Culture and the Holocaust
History of Jewish America
European Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict
Statement of Teaching Philosophy:
I have been teaching world and American history courses since the fall of 2013, first at Wayne State University and presently at Bronx Community College. Though each course I have taught has been a survey course intended to meet general education requirements, my students have varied greatly in their interests and educational backgrounds. Regardless of their educational background, I employ the same teaching philosophy and techniques, trying to get students to actively engage with the course material. My philosophy of teaching is best summarized by the idea that students will best learn by the act of “doing history.” I structure my classes based on the idea that history is a discipline requiring the cultivation of skills, not rote memorization of facts, dates, and figures. I combine lecture with primary source analysis and in-class workshops to develop the skills of historical practice. Though I teach historical material through readings and lecture (I believe there is still great value in the lecture format) I workshop the skills required to actually learn in a lecture environment, regularly assessing classroom skills like analytical thinking, critical reading, and note-taking. My primary goal is not to have all students leave having memorized specific dates and names, but to send them away with the skills to think like historians and a general knowledge of the class material. Though higher level classes require less hand-holding in the early stages of developing the historians craft, all levels benefit from the mix of lecture and in-class exercises and discussions.
Rendering Teaching Philosophy into Practice: The History Survey Course:
I have spent several years developing my teaching philosophy and determining best methods to execute it in the history survey course. Teaching non-history majors to think like historians is both the goal of, and the motivation for, the above philosophy. Students in survey courses tend to take the class to fulfil a college requirement, not to indulge in a personal interest in history, or even as a voluntary elective. These students generally believe that history courses are about rote memorization, so arrive with neither the skills nor the enthusiasm that undergraduate history majors possess. I prefer not to see these students as a challenge to change the minds of those who are sure they detest history, but as an opportunity to make connections between the skills of history and their own respective disciplines. From the start of each survey course, I make an effort to showcase the marketable and transferrable skills of the historian’s craft. Approaching the survey in this way has helped me to engage students even if they believe that the survey is irrelevant or uninteresting when they initially arrive. As one student put it, “Although history is not my favorite, the teacher helped make it interesting which helped me learn.” I see the survey course as the gateway to historical thinking and to a love of history, as it serves to attract potential history majors and to develop skills helpful for whatever major (and career) students choose to pursue.
My methods in the classroom reflect the above goals and philosophy. If students are to “do history” in a survey course, they need the materials of the craft. For this reason, though I assign a textbook to support the lectures and provide context, the majority of their readings are primary sources and essays by historians which address historical questions and debates. All of these sources become the materials that students will evaluate, analyze, and discuss in the classroom and in their assignments. By evaluating these sources, students learn how to critically analyze historical evidence and engage in historical debates.
Though most survey students do not decide to declare their history major and devote themselves to the field, they do leave with an understanding of the work that historians do, and the complexities of the field. At the end of term, I consider the class a success if students have learned useful thinking and writing skills, and understanding basic analytical methods for solving historical problems. Though many of my students find the material and subject difficult, they leave feeling that their hard work has amounted to real achievement. According to a recent freshman in one of my classes, “I cannot say the course was easy … [but] I was able to see my growth! Even though I hated the [papers] initially, it wasn’t too demanding … Overall, this was tough but I hope all my hard work paid off.”