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Over the course of my career I have taught innovative courses (including The Black Power Movement; Recent African American History; Black Nationalism in America; and Black Popular Culture) that emphasize an interdisciplinary approach to undergraduate and graduate teaching. By combining a variety of disciplines (history, Black Studies, political science, sociology, Women’s Studies, American Studies), my research in African American intellectual, political, and cultural history and related social movements connects the practical and the political. Therefore, effective teaching necessitates a distinctive tradition of interdisciplinary thought. The study of a historical figure such as Malcolm X provides a useful example of this. Malcolm was a minister, philosopher, and political activist whose speeches and autobiographty contributed to intellectual thought and political thought. Understanding Malcolm’s significance tests the boundaries of traditional academic disciplines. Therefore, a comprehensive analysis of Malcolm requires an interdisciplinary interpretive approach that, similar to his works and activism is creative, imaginative, and rigorous.
My teaching style fosters critical thinking in and outside of the classroom. Higher education, at its best, illuminates connections between a broad range of communities that are multi-racial, multi-ethnic, and multi-generational. Perhaps the greatest attribute that I bring to the classroom is my energy and enthusiasm. While an undergraduate I encountered a handful of dynamic historians whose lectures and oratory profoundly impacted me. They combined painstaking erudition with a passion for inquiry and social justice that was palpable. It is my hope that I have learned well by their example.
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