Making Thinking Visible
Students come to philosophy already thinking philosophically. My job is to help them do it better. I give them tools and habits to think more clearly, critically, and precisely about fundamental questions, and I design learning environments where that thinking becomes visible and open to examination. My aim is to cultivate the intellectual virtues essential to lifelong learning, philosophical inquiry, and democratic citizenship.
Courses Taught
Ethics Research Seminar for Undergraduates
I designed the Ethics Research Seminar for Undergraduates especially for students earning a transcript designation in ethics as Parr Center Ethics Scholars. Each student pursues an independent research project in ethics in a mutually supportive and collaborative intellectual community. We begin with major themes in philosophical and practical ethics and then turn to topics drawn from the students’ own projects. The seminar treats ethical deliberation as a slow and iterative exercise of judgment, and consequently it pays special attention to the cultivation of intellectual patience, humility, and openness to opposing moral viewpoints.
Intergenerational Philosophy
Intergenerational Philosophy is a community-engaged course that began in spring 2021 as a virtual pilot during the pandemic. Since then, it has grown into a vibrant space for public philosophy with community partners across the Triangle. Each semester, undergraduates from across the university meet with older adults to read, question, and argue about philosophy together as intellectual peers. Our conversations range widely but return again and again to ethical reasoning and real-world dilemmas. The course also raises larger questions about what education is for, why learning should continue across a lifetime, and what philosophy can contribute to civic life.
Moral and Philosophical Issues in Education
UNC-Chapel Hill
Special Topics in Philosophy: Attention and the Good Life
UNC-Chapel Hill
Social Foundation of Education (Graduate School of Education)
University of Pennsylvania
Directed Readings: Cicero’s Moral and Political Philosophy
UNC-Chapel Hill
Public Philosophy and Civic Engagement
University of Pennsylvania
Ethics Bowl and Democratic Deliberation
UNC-Chapel Hill