Potsdam Pathways
You will find a summary of my contributions to the Potsdam Pathways program and a short reflection on my work in this area. Below you will find descriptions of my WAYS courses with links to further information.
Potsdam Pathways
In my teaching I have consistently contributed to the Potsdam general education efforts in a variety of creative ways. I have taught courses in the past that solely served the previous general education system and I am doing so now in the new system as well. In the past, only some of my political science and international studies courses were able to count toward the old system due to a very outdated understanding of what cross-cultural education is. When I served on the establishment of the "Connect Globally" designator, we ensured that the new Pathways system would not suffer from the same misjudgment. Consequently, almost all of my courses now qualify for the "Connect Globally" designator and I am using Spring 2022 to get approved for the following classes:
POLS 140 Introduction to International Relations
POLS 335 International Conflict
POLS 337 International Political Economy
POLS 349 European Union
POLS 359 International Migrants and Refugees
If all of these courses get approved, all but one of my courses will contribute to the Pathways program and I hope that my courses will help diversify and enrich the "Connect Globally" offers.
In addition, I am currently contributing to the Pathways by teaching two WAYS courses and I plan on designing a third WAYS course, which is the maximum I am going to be able to teach in any given year. Below are short summaries of the WAYS courses. For more detailed information on the two course I already teach, please follow the link below.
I deeply believe in the need for a robust general education program as part of U.S. college education and I am a strong supporter of Potsdam Pathways. Due to the topics that I tend to cover in my classes such as international migration and immigration in the U.S., civil and international war, nationalism, international political economy, racism, xenophobia, and LGBTQ+ rights, I contribute important content to Pathways. Due to my overall very effective pedagogy and my usage of cross-cultural and intergroup dialogue in my classroom, I am able to create an inclusive environment where learning and understanding of often difficult issues can occur. With a focus on engagement, empathy, and voices who are often overlooked, I try to expand my students' horizons in productive ways in pursuit of the Potsdam Pledge and a more just society.
WAYS 103
Immigration in the United States
In this class we look at immigration in the United States and how society determines who is allowed to become a full member. In order to better understand the complexities of this question, we look at the immigration history of the United States from its beginnings to today. We focus on different groups and their reception here, paying particular attention to xenophobia and racism. In the last part of class, we examine multiple dimensions of the experience of living in the United States as an immigrant. These include things such as living an undocumented life, families across borders, remittances, and residential segregation.
Active engagement with dialogue as a form of communication is a core component of this course. Students get the opportunity to virtually engage with students from Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, during 4 weeks of the course as part of the SUNY Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) program.
In addition to the general WAYS 103 Student Learning Outcomes, students will be able to
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describe the major trends in the history of immigration to the United States.
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analyze the federal policy responses to various forms of immigration;
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analyze underlying and consistent systems of xenophobia and racism in the response to different immigrant groups;
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evaluate different approaches to integrating immigrant communities with a focus on political, civic, socioeconomic, sociocultural dimensions;
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critically examine the lived experiences of immigrants in the United States with a focus on the 21st century.
Fall 2021
Fall 2021
COIL Pedagogy
After my first iteration I am overall very satisfied with this course. I will make a few adjustments by reducing the content by approximately 10-15%, increasing the dialogue components, increasing the instruction on informative and persuasive speaking, and add one week to the COIL experience. I think after these changes, this will be a class that addresses the goals of WAYS 103 very well.
WAYS 301
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WAYS 301
Climate Change and
Human Migration
This course aims to connect the different disciplines of political science, environmental studies, and geographic information science by examining human migration through the lens of global climate change. We will look at the different effects of climate change on human populations throughout the world and the ways it causes human movement both locally and globally. The effects of climate change migrants and refugees will be examined in the global context and within countries of origin and destination countries. We will use Geographic Information Science techniques to understand the spatial intersection of climate events and human migration.
WAYS 301 courses are intended to enhance students’ abilities to make connections across academic disciplines and to provide the opportunity for self-assessment of this cross-disciplinary approach to problem shaping. Led by two faculty members from different disciplines, students will examine a central issue from multiple perspectives. Through participation in a WAYS 301 course, students consider information from diverse sources, shape the issue through creative questioning, and explore and evaluate a range of solutions to foster development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Upon completion, students are expected to have gained a thorough understanding of connections between global climate change and human migration. Students will be able to apply the learning in their fields of interest. After completion of this course, students will be able to
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articulate the various and unequitable threats of climate change;
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describe how the threats of climate change affect human populations throughout the world;
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understand the drivers of human migration;
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connect the threats of climate change to human migration;
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learn the basic concepts of GIS, and apply them to map human migration.
Please check the course list at the bottom of the main teaching page to see more details about this course.
WAYS 103
Stories of the LGBTQ+ Movement
SUNY Potsdam has one of the largest LGBTQ+ communities in the SUNY system with 30-40% of our students identifying as members of the community. I have served this community as one of the Gender and Sexuality Coordinators for 3 years. While I may return to this position at a later date, I want to be able to serve our community through teaching in the classroom as well. Having studied the history of the LGBTQ+ rights movement here in the U.S. and
Germany, I am realizing that a lot of young members of the LGBTQ+ community do not have a clear understanding of how this movement has developed over time and what kinds of struggles people had to engage in and suffer through. A common history is an incredibly important aspect of a collective identity and it can provide an important grounding for oneself.
In general, but especially in a WAYS 103 class on this topic, it is incredibly important to not overlook groups within the multifaceted
LGBTQ+ community and ensure that especially the voices of the most marginalized individuals are being heard. In a speaking-focused class on the topic, I want to take this quite literally and explore our history through the voices of some of the most important community leaders and activists as well as everyday people during various time periods. Eric Marcus has recorded over 100 interviews which he conducted in the 1980s and 1990s and has been sharing them with us first in his book "Making Gay History" and now in an ongoing podcast series in its 10th season (linked on the left). Students will listen to this and other podcasts to learn directly from the activists and I will provide some of the historical context in which these folx operated along with additional materials that I have collected about these individuals and their organizations.
In late 2022 and early 2023, I conducted archival research for this course for which I was granted a Lougheed Faculty Development Grant. This money allowed me to travel to New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles to conduct research at the New York Public Library LGBTQ+ and AIDS collection, the Archives of the National LGBT Historical Society and the Special Collections Archives of UCLA. Through this initial research I was able to collect pictures of over 500 documents and artifacts. Some of the individuals that focused on so far are Vitto Russo, Jose Sarria, Evelyn Hooker, Copy Berg, along with organizations such as Act Up and the Imperial Court. I hope to use more of my professional development funding to complete this research to include more individuals from the most marginalized communities under the LGBTQ+ umbrella. I hope these additional resources will really bring these individuals to life allow my student to understand their communities history.
Together with my students, we will analyze and process this history that is often very difficult to take in. Through trauma-informed pedagogy and through utilizing the tools of dialogue and facilitation, I hope to provide our students with a meaningful and important new WAYS 103 class in Spring 2024.
SLIDE SHOW
Lecture during an event series during Supreme Court deliberations of the Obergefell v. Hodges case ultimately creating marriage equality.