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Philosophy and preparation
My teaching philosophy is based on the idea that anthropological knowledge and methods should transcend beyond the disciplinary boundaries and my classes must strive to make anthropology interesting, relevant and meaningful to my students so that they can apply anthropological knowledge and insights to understand and critically analyze the sociocultural and environmental issues around them.

My teaching approach embraces the idea of active participation in classrooms, field schools or research projects. Hands-on exercises and training may not be possible in every course, but my goal is to impart students with practical skills and offer them opportunities to see how relevant and meaningful anthropology can be to understanding and addressing the real world issues. I also believe in advising students not only to become more discerning readers and critical thinkers of the world around them, but also in helping them become analytical and persuasive writers.

Although my teaching experiences have been only as a teaching assistant for undergraduate anthropology and research method classes, I have fully prepared myself for teaching courses in American universities, in terms of understanding the education system, proving my language ability and communication skills, and providing guidance and help to others. Apart from offering several guest lectures, I also have regularly interacted with students on a “one-to-one” basis and I even have mentored a few students and colleagues. Given the opportunity, I am prepared for teaching introductory level sociocultural anthropology classes. My upper level undergraduate and graduate classes may include environmental anthropology, ethnoecology, development theories, culture and agriculture, remote sensing, and qualitative data analysis. Teaching lower level courses is always challenging, mainly because I pursued anthropology only at the doctoral level; this in fact serves as a motivation for me to pay attention to details and put extra efforts in the preparation of each class.

Teaching Focus and Strategies
All of these considerations have led me to believe that the teaching is more than just an academic chore. It involves enormous and consistent energy, organizational skills, and creativity to ensure constant intellectual enrichment. Being able to respond to students’ questions and engage with them as they formulate their own ideas can inspire and motivate them, which in turn can make my teaching and mentoring experience more rewarding. I believe in the effective use of new media, such as Blackboard, WebCT, ToolBook; the use of multimedia enhances teaching effectiveness and helps me stay productive in the organization of the class and in making effective communication.

My teaching strategies cover a range of formats, which vary with the goal intended for each class. Apart from conventional lectures, visual presentations and periodic tests, I prefer creative assignments (e.g., short essay, review of literature) and group projects, which develop students’ ability to focus on a specific topic of interest. This means students get opportunities to explore different ways of comprehending the concepts or lecture topics. What matters the most to me with such strategies is how much effort students put to relate the concepts they learned in the class with their assignments. This helps evaluate whether students are able to apply what is written in the textbooks and more generally if students are better informed in their thoughts and writing.

Teaching Experiences
Teaching Assistant (2000-2007), Department of Anthropology, UGA.
Courses: Introduction to Anthropology, Historical Ecology, Multicultural Health

Teaching Assistant (1995-1996), Program for International Development and Department of Sociology, Clark University, MA.
Courses: Development Problems, Social Research processes

Sample Syllabi
To be added soon