Teaching

A museum is not the “practice” or “reflection” or the “presentation” of (a) theory; it is a theoretical (that is, philosophical, ideological, political) practice. It is not “related to” philosophy as practice to theory; it is theory as practice.

Preziosi, Donald. “Philosophy and the Ends of the Museum.” In Museum Philosophy for the Twenty-First Century, edited by Hugh H Genoways, 69–78. Oxford, UK: AltaMira Press, 2006. 75.

I am currently Assistant Professor, Museum Studies at George Washington University. The Museum Studies Program at GWU responds to the evolving museum profession by combining hands-on training with future-focused theoretical engagement. Students who enroll in the program gain foundational knowledge about the state of museum work today, practical skills and the ability to critically engage with developments in the field. Since joining the Program in 2016, I have developed and taught graduate level courses including Museums and Technology, Museums and Social Media, Critical Visitor Experience, Museum History and Theory, Digitization and Digital Asset Management, and Museum Ethics and Values.

As an educator, I seek to develop critical, reflexive thinking within my students, empowering them to engage in thoughtful questioning, analytical reasoning, and problem solving. These skills are essential abilities in a complex, rapidly changing era shaped by networked communication technologies. My early teaching was informed by my experience as a digital practitioner and participant in online communities of practice focused on the transformative potential of museum technology. Although my broad pedagogic goals have been consistent across my teaching career, my approach to pedagogy has recently changed, informed in equal measure by the pandemic and its ongoing affects, my research, and by the act of teaching itself, and learning more about how to support my students against a increasingly fraught backdrop. It has become important to me to foreground inclusive pedagogy, trauma-informed teaching, and a pedagogy of care. You can read more about this approach to pedagogy in the NAEA Museum Education publication Viewfinder.

I am always interested in connecting with fellow academics, and am happy to exchange syllabi with those working on similar courses. Reach out to me via email to do so.