Teaching
Employment & Pedagogy
After completing my PhD in 2018, I was proud to join the Lion Pride at Missouri Southern State University, located in Joplin, MO. My six years as a professor at MSSU have been extremely rewarding and full of excitement. To learn more about our history program and what we are up to, visit our History at MSSU facebook page.
One of my main goals as a professor is for students to leave my classroom with a greater respect and empathy for other people. Studying organizations dedicated to promoting international cooperation influences my outlook as an instructor. The actors I research did not merely preach the importance of multiculturalism; they experienced it through their relationships with people from diverse political, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. Regardless of the topic, students in my courses must actively engage with the material and demonstrate they can think about the world from different perspectives.
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Simulations & Model Un
While I use a variety of exercises to help students view historical events, people, and ideologies with fresh eyes, one of the most effective tools I use in the classroom is the award-winning simulation program, Reacting to the Past.
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Another simulation-based program I co-lead at MSSU is our Model United Nations course and club. After students learn about the UN, international governance, and the history of the countries our delegates are representing, every fall semester we take our students to Chicago to participate in the American Model UN conference. Countries we have represented are: Republic of Korea (2019); Cuba and Dominican Republic (2020); Denmark and Thailand (2021); Czech Republic (2022); Ireland (2023). For more information about our Model UN program and to follow our delegates, visit our MSSU MUN facebook page.
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Study Abroad
One of the highlights of my career is getting to take students abroad. The value they get from being immersed in new cultures and visiting historic sites is unparalleled. In addition to the two trips listed below, I've co-led study abroads to Czechia & Austria (December 2022) and Barcelona (2023).
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CAMINO DE SANTIAGO (France, Spain, & Portugal). Offered tri-annually, one of the most popular trips I organize and lead is about pilgrimage, European identity, and the Camino de Santiago, which I co-teach with colleagues from the Spanish, English, and Kinesiology departments. The first time we offered this trip was in 2019 (pictured left) and again in the summer of 2022. While walking parts of the trail from SW France to Santiago de Compostela in NW Spain, we visit pilgrimage sites and other culturally significant landmarks.
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BRITISH IMPERIALISM & THE ENVIRONMENT (Australia). In Fall 2019 I taught a course that explored the impact of British imperialism on the Australian environment. Along with colleagues in Political Science and Geography, this course ended with a study abroad that took students across the Australian continent in January of 2020.
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Courses regularly Offered*
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- Reacting to the Past
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Model United Nations
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19th Century Europe
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20th Century Europe
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The Holocaust
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Perceptions of the Past: The Holocaust in Film
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Western Civilizations since 1500
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Modern Global History
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Historical Research Methods
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Senior Research Seminar (topic varies, but most recently focused on the First World War)
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*for a full list, see my CV
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