Teaching Statement When I engage in research — which focuses largely on discursive processes of a/sexual identity formation — I often reflect upon my college years, where so much of what I know now felt perpetually and painfully out of reach. My early a/sexual sensibilities were the product of epistemic lacunas, overwhelming cu ltural scripts, digitally mediated misinformation, and an unrelenting and unspoken frustration with the status quo as I knew it. Memories of those years drives both my purpose and praxis in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies classrooms, where now I see k to illuminate and challenge for my students the cultural and discursive norms related to gender and sexuality that structure so much of our worlds, even — especially — when they seem invisible, abstract, or overwhelming. In the classroom, I ultimately seek t o create space for students to encounter intellectually and personally challenging scholarship about gender, race, class, and sexuality while developing the skills to critically assess what they learn, recognizing that these topics are simultaneously polit ical and personal. Because much of my research is mined from digital trends and communities, I bring my interest in online artifacts into the classroom, where my students and I together introduce and explore diverse, contemporary collections of artifacts. We treat these arti facts with respect — not only as cultural critics dissecting from above, but as audience members embroiled with in our own historie s, desires, and biases. Subsequently, when I discuss “meaning” with my students, I speak of both a depth “out there” — which under writes the more visible behaviors, trends, and discourses they can see — and a depth “in here,” within themselves. In the classroom, we often spend time with the artifacts they provide, connecting real cultural constraints — such as the fears and anxieties their communities grapple with — with discursive and theoretical moves that capture their attention, articulate their desires, and shape their thinking. In a media environment saturated by apathy, contained outrag e, lightning - quick opinions, and opaque circulation, I help my students to slow down when assessing their digital forests and trees. Integral to these projects is my students’ developing ability to dispense and receive critical feedback. As one of the most concrete and practical outcomes of my classes, I model and instruct my students in Socratic methods of critique. When topics are sen sitive — gendered experiences or movements, for example, or sexual behaviors, desires, and attitudes — I recognize that critique often points inward despite our best efforts to sharpen its edges outward. So two essential components underwrite my students’ and my practices of giving feedback. First, self - reflexivity is central to this process, and time in class is devoted to journaling with an eye toward conscientious reflection and emotional attention. Second, our critique is a practice of mutual dialogue, wher e my students and I pose questions, explain what both worked and didn’t for us, and engage enthusiastically and curiously with the artifacts we encounter. When I facilitate dialogue, I bring my communication background to the fore, where establishing robus t and respectful communicative task and social processes take precedence over product — in other words, I am more interested in helping students learn how to think together than identify singular answers. As we critique, I learn as much from my students as t hey do from me I strive to create a feminist classroom environment where all perspectives are valued, where no one individual carries authority over the efficacy of an artifact, and where we are mutually invested in deepening and expanding our burgeoning critical abilities. In other words: together, we create a classroom environment that is not always comfortable, but which is devoted to deepening our engagement with diverse knowledges, ideas, and experiences of the worlds around us.