My research explores the category of material culture known generically as “garbage.” I’m interested in the many forms of labor and infrastructure that waste requires, the spatial demands it imposes on urban areas, the organizational responses it inspires, and the cultural practices and attitudes that adhere to it.
My goal as a teacher is to excite students about the themes around which a class is organized and to help them delve deeply into the questions and theories we explore. I want them to come to the end of a semester with far greater awareness of, and respect for, the complexity and nuance of the world around us. I also want to help them become more confident in articulating their own analyses of the ideas, texts, and debates that we discuss.
Teaching is a privilege; like writing, it’s a skill that can always be improved. Every class is an opportunity to engage and challenge students more fully, and to create richer, more supportive conditions for our shared journey of intellectual discovery.