TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
As a researcher and educator, teaching has always been one of my passions. My research has little significance if it cannot engage meaningful dialogues about who we are and who we hope to become. As a South Asian-American immigrant woman living within a marginalized context of the United States, my intellectual pursuits have long ceased to be a mere academic exercise. My work is intensely personal and has demanded an interrogation of gender and race in which I am implicated out of necessity. My pedagogical approach is, in large part, inspired by Mary Louise Pratt’s notion of the “contact zone,” a term that refers to “social spaces where cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other, often in contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power, such as colonialism, slavery, or their aftermaths as they are lived out in many parts of the world today” (Pratt 607). The classroom enacts the contact zone in that Pratt’s model begins with an interrogation and analysis of literacy in our globalized world. This model is particularly useful for the kinds of courses that I most regularly teach: World literature and Postcolonial literary and Cultural Studies, with a focus on Africa, South Asia, the Caribbean, and minority literatures of the U.S. and Britain. For many of my students, my courses are their first chance to critically engage in discussions about the history of colonialism and imperialism. Their learning is also a personal journey because they seek answers to questions that have historically been silenced or ignored within high school systems—questions that are difficult and painful to articulate, questions about self and being and belonging. Consequently, the classroom has to be a democratic space where everyone’s presence is equally valued, where opinions, however tentative, can be encouraged to grow. With this in mind, I consciously work towards the creation of a learning space where students can articulate alternative perspectives, where each voice can be mutually respected, and where we can accept both the important points at which we meet and the necessary junctures at which our experiences diverge. To create this kind of dynamic learning space it has been necessary to shift and challenge teaching and learning norms. I strongly believe that as an educator, I am equally involved in the process of learning and my students are equally involved in the process of teaching. My voice, then, is not a voice of uncontested power. Rather than representing ultimate authority, my task is to open up spaces for critical dialogue. It is when students understand that we are all participants that they can be really liberated to learn. Teaching is a difficult task, if only because in my own learning I often have to face “truths” I would rather not acknowledge.
My approach to teaching critical analysis is largely derived from Clifford Geertz’s notion of “thick description,” which helps us, as readers of texts and as ethnographers of cultures, to interpret signs by peeling away layers and discovering all possible meanings in order to make sense of the text and its place in the world. This kind of work, I believe, creates not just a thinking student, but, in fact, a participating citizen of the world. Thus, the kinds of questions I encourage students to ask builds upon their acquired literacy of literature and the world, challenges their assumptions about community and civic participation, and promises to bring their eventual understanding of the text back where it belongs – at home with them. I believe that my most valuable role as an educator lies in my ability and willingness to facilitate all of my students’ learning. I have to help students problematize the issues beyond the immediate parameters of their personal experiences and help them understand that there are never any easy answers—force them to question and rework many of their own assumptions. Therefore, being open, and building a safe space for difficult conversations to take place is a priority for me.
From the first day of class, I strive to make the classroom an active and intellectual space. My teaching style is driven for passion for the subject and compassion for the students. I also want them to develop as strong individuals who are also responsible citizens. To help them gain intellectual independence, I rarely lecture in class; rather, I serve as a guide. Discussions are student- driven, through comments or questions, through agenda building, through response papers or blogs, and, sometimes, a combination of any. When appropriate, students are encouraged to develop final projects that exhibit a critical praxis, often in the form of an activist project.
Close reading is one of the foundations of doing literary studies. The process of discussing and writing about a text begins with a close reading. What does a passage say? How does it say it? By examining the structure, rhetorical features, cultural references, we can begin to develop opinions and give interpretations. Students get a close reading handout for both fiction and non-fiction as well as a handout on critical analysis and participation to guide them towards building those skills. In lower-division classes, the class will be given a passage, work through the passage with a group and then each person writes a paper with revisions on that passage. Many comment that this is the first time they have been asked to do this. I will have them write their introductions and bring them to class. We then tape the introductions around the room and we read and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each one. This helps them to use the skills we develop in close reading and apply them to their colleagues’ work. I find that this results in stronger, more thoughtful papers.
Effective participation is another component of the class that is extremely important for developing critical positions and to be able to communicate them both orally and in written form. One of my goals is to have students develop oratory as well as listening skills. I, therefore, emphasize that effective participation is also about listening and responding to other members of the class.
I try to impress the value of silence in my classes. As challenging as it is not to fill up “dead air” with chatter, silence can encourage the building of a safe and comfortable intellectual space. I welcome the moments during which we think through a particularly difficult section of a text. I encourage students to take their time developing thoughtful and thought-provoking responses. This has helped me grow as a teacher and with my comfort in the classroom.
Writing well-thought out essays, response papers, film and book reviews is another emphasis of my classes. One successful technique has been to use the entire semester to slowly build up writing a thesis-driven essay, especially in lower-division courses as a way to introduce students to expectations of college-level writing. I often tap into my background as a writing teacher and each paper prompt reflects both the course content as well as a step in developing writing skills. Through peer-editing worksheets and evaluations, I am able to assess the effectiveness of the writing groups. Finally, we begin the work of assembling a thesis-driven essay which is their final. I meet with them one-on-one at least twice in this process.