Jesse M. Smith, PhD

I began teaching in graduate school as a Teaching Assistant in 2006, before becoming a Graduate Instructor in 2009. During and since this time I have developed my professional skills, curriculum, and portfolio through classroom teaching, pedagogical workshops, seminars, mentorship, and course development at both the undergraduate and graduate level.

I have taught the following courses:

Undergraduate

Graduate

Qualitative Interpretation of Social Life
Qualitative Analysis and Writing
Social Psychology of Deviance
Qualitative Methods

Online Education

Qualitative Interpretation of Social Life
Introduction to Social Psychology
Sociology of Deviance
Principles of Sociology

Below is an excerpt from my teaching philosophy statement, taken from the introduction of my full teaching portfolio:

Teaching is a critical, integral, and rewarding aspect of a career in academia. I have a passion for teaching sociology, and I truly enjoy what I do for a living. I consider it a great privilege to be a part of an institution that fosters such values as freedom of thought and expression, social and intellectual diversity, and civic responsibility. That I get to share with students my passion for, and commitment to, these values is a real source of fulfillment, and one I hope never to take for granted. I have a deep commitment and respect for the learning process, for students, and for the multiplicity of perspectives and backgrounds that constitute an active and open educational environment. My teaching goals can be distilled into four basic elements: (1) maintaining a commitment to the sociological enterprise and fostering in my students a sociological perspective, (2) challenging and facilitating students’ critical thinking skills and intellectual growth, (3) creating a learning environment that is conducive to both of these objectives, and (4) understanding and encouraging diversity of all kinds while working to build and maintain communities that embody and sustain all of these values.