Much of my sensibility as a scholar—attention to race, religion, and social change, to the natural and built environments, and to individual and community capacity-building—is reflected in my teaching at Francis Marion University, whether of introductory or upper-level courses.

 

Every semester I teach one or two sections of the second half of the U.S. history survey, and I regularly rotate advanced courses in African, African American, and South Carolina history. As co-coordinator (with Dr. Chris Barton) of the History Department's concentration in Public History & Archaeology, I teach Introduction to Public History and supervise the History Internship. I serve on the advisory committee for the interdisciplinary program in African & African American Studies, and I teach that program's gateway course each fall. 

 

All of my courses focus on assisting students to develop their skills of effective reading comprehension, analysis, and expression. Over the past several years I have developed book-length study guides for several courses that promote close reading of the principal text as well as carefully selected primary historical documents, written and visual. The result is a seminar-style classroom experience with a high level of student engagement. My courses also include film and media studies; guest lectures by experts and practitioners; and field trips to sites that help bring history to life.