Teaching
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Positions held
Professor. Connecticut College. 2022- Associate Professor. Connecticut College. 2017-2022 Assistant Professor. Connecticut College. 2011-2017 Assistant Professor. DeSales University. 2009-2011 Visiting Assistant Professor. St Cloud State University. 2008-2009 Graduate Teaching Associate. Ohio University. 2005-2008 (Check out my students' work over here to the left!) |
Teaching Awards
Award of Teaching Excellence (Senior Faculty). University Film and Video Association. 2019
Oakes and Louise Ames Prize for Outstanding Honors Thesis. Connecticut College. 2019
John S. King Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence. Connecticut College. 2018
Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Faculty Mentor Award. Connecticut College. 2018
Graduate Associate Outstanding Teacher Award. Ohio University. 2006
Award of Teaching Excellence (Senior Faculty). University Film and Video Association. 2019
Oakes and Louise Ames Prize for Outstanding Honors Thesis. Connecticut College. 2019
John S. King Memorial Award for Teaching Excellence. Connecticut College. 2018
Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Faculty Mentor Award. Connecticut College. 2018
Graduate Associate Outstanding Teacher Award. Ohio University. 2006
Courses taught:
Film and Video Production courses Fundamentals of Motion Picture Production Documentary Theory and Production Ideological Representation in Motion Picture Production Experimental Film: History and Practice Producing The Short Film Quarantine Filmmaking Advanced Production Workshop Editing Cinematography History of the Documentary Directing II Digital Filmmaking Filmmaking Master Class Directing Actors for the Camera/Acting for the Camera Film Techniques: Semiotics, Representation and Ideology Screenwriting courses Screenwriting Short Form Media Scriptwriting |
Film Studies courses The Art of Film Postmodern Cinema and Culture Camp Cinema and Sensibilities Hidden Ideology in the Student Film Other courses Senior Seminar in Arts and Technology |
Philosophy of Teaching
It is my goal to help each student explore their personal relationship with the medium of film through the development of artistic craft, management skills and professional work ethic within the context of psychological, sociological and philosophical inquiry. Young filmmakers need playful spontaneity and experimental freedom as part of their creative development, and they must also be able to reflect on their choices and assume responsibility for their decisions. It is important not only for students to find their own unique voices, but also be thoughtful – socially, politically and morally – in what they say as well. I want to send students out into the world not only as artists and storytellers - but also as thinkers with cameras.
Above all, I believe that it is my responsibility as a teacher to challenge and expand students’ worldviews by exposing students to new ways of thinking, seeing, and experiencing the world — including, especially, perspectives coming from voices outside the social or cultural mainstream. I believe that challenging my students in these ways is best accomplished with a respectful, non- confrontational, and non-dogmatic approach. I teach that filmmaking can be more than applied theory; it has the potential to be activism aimed at social justice and equality.
I aim to support and challenge my students in equal measure. Introducing underrepresented perspectives is part of this process, but so is insisting on intellectual and creative rigor. In my comments and critiques of student work, I never settle for a ‘student-film’ standard. If students, at any level, are going to expend the time and effort on a production, they should be thinking about it as more than the completion of a classroom assignment. I encourage students to see their projects as opportunities to make ‘real films,’ and to get their work out into the world. A number of my students’ films have screened internationally at festivals and won awards.
The highest levels of challenge and rigor emerge from my emphasis on process over product. Students are required to have script meetings, table screenings, and even post-screening meetings where we discuss technical elements and theoretical and representational issues alike. I help the students to understand that their work can always get better and be improved. Borrowing from my favorite teacher, my mantra for students is this: It’s not about what you did yesterday; it’s about what you’re going to do tomorrow.
In the end, it is quality that I am after, and I hope to inspire them to pursue quality as well. Quality can be difficult to define, but in filmmaking I believe it is found in creative, original and compelling storytelling that engages an audience emotionally, intellectually and viscerally, and explores themes and ideas in an ethically conscious manner. It is my goal to help students see that filmmaking goes beyond entertainment, that they have the ability not only to represent the world but also the responsibility that comes with shaping it.
It is my goal to help each student explore their personal relationship with the medium of film through the development of artistic craft, management skills and professional work ethic within the context of psychological, sociological and philosophical inquiry. Young filmmakers need playful spontaneity and experimental freedom as part of their creative development, and they must also be able to reflect on their choices and assume responsibility for their decisions. It is important not only for students to find their own unique voices, but also be thoughtful – socially, politically and morally – in what they say as well. I want to send students out into the world not only as artists and storytellers - but also as thinkers with cameras.
Above all, I believe that it is my responsibility as a teacher to challenge and expand students’ worldviews by exposing students to new ways of thinking, seeing, and experiencing the world — including, especially, perspectives coming from voices outside the social or cultural mainstream. I believe that challenging my students in these ways is best accomplished with a respectful, non- confrontational, and non-dogmatic approach. I teach that filmmaking can be more than applied theory; it has the potential to be activism aimed at social justice and equality.
I aim to support and challenge my students in equal measure. Introducing underrepresented perspectives is part of this process, but so is insisting on intellectual and creative rigor. In my comments and critiques of student work, I never settle for a ‘student-film’ standard. If students, at any level, are going to expend the time and effort on a production, they should be thinking about it as more than the completion of a classroom assignment. I encourage students to see their projects as opportunities to make ‘real films,’ and to get their work out into the world. A number of my students’ films have screened internationally at festivals and won awards.
The highest levels of challenge and rigor emerge from my emphasis on process over product. Students are required to have script meetings, table screenings, and even post-screening meetings where we discuss technical elements and theoretical and representational issues alike. I help the students to understand that their work can always get better and be improved. Borrowing from my favorite teacher, my mantra for students is this: It’s not about what you did yesterday; it’s about what you’re going to do tomorrow.
In the end, it is quality that I am after, and I hope to inspire them to pursue quality as well. Quality can be difficult to define, but in filmmaking I believe it is found in creative, original and compelling storytelling that engages an audience emotionally, intellectually and viscerally, and explores themes and ideas in an ethically conscious manner. It is my goal to help students see that filmmaking goes beyond entertainment, that they have the ability not only to represent the world but also the responsibility that comes with shaping it.