Teaching
I have served as a graduate student instructor, a lead instructor and an adjunct lecturer for a range of three-four credit/unit courses at my graduate institution (UC-Berkeley), for the City University of New York, Brooklyn College (CUNY-BC), Rutgers University, New Brunswick, and Dartmouth College. The average number of students for each class that I have taught has been thirty-two, and I have taught one to two courses per academic year on my home campus, or while away conducting my ethnographic research in the New York metropolitan area.
As an ethnic studies scholar trained in both sociological and interdisciplinary methods and specializing in urban Latina/o/x communities in the United States, I am particularly interested in teaching courses on Latina/o/x ethnography, disability justice, and carework. In the classroom, I consistently seek to make explicit connections between my role as a researcher and my role as a teacher. Regardless of class size and topic, I integrate general research skills that students will try hands-on in class, whether it is to learn to perform close readings of texts and “read for the argument”; assemble a research bibliography about a particular topic; conduct, transcribe, and code an ethnographic interview; generate field notes from participant-observation; administer a survey; or shoot a short documentary film. In addition to the specialty courses outlined below, I am also prepared to teach a series of introductory courses, including Introduction to Latina/o/x Studies, Introduction to Ethnic Studies and topics courses on Comparative Latina/o/x Migrations, Latina/o/x Documentary Film, Latina/o/x Diasporas in the U.S., Latina/o/x Independent Studies and Service Learning Projects. The courses below can be adapted to a 200-level, 300-level specialized topic course, or a 400-level seminar.
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For more on Melanie's Teaching, click here for her virtual teaching portfolio.
Melanie's discussion section in Barcelona, Spain (2018).
COURSES TAUGHT:
For departments of Ethnic Studies, Latino Studies, Puerto Rican Studies, Gender & Women's Studies and Sociology.
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Migration, Gender & Health in Latinx Communities
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Introduction to Latino Studies
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Introduction to Puerto Rican & Latino Studies
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Introduction to Chicano Culture
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Introduction to Chicano History
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Theories & Concepts in Comparative Ethnic Studies
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Latinos & Migration
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Latina/o/x and Community
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Latino Documentary Film
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Latinos & the Politics of Belonging
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Latino Literature
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Knowledge and Power: Issues in Women’s Leadership
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Gender, Women, and Work
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Adjusting to the Research University for Community College Students
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Spain in Global Contexts, Study Abroad in Barcelona, Spain
Melanie's Class at Dartmouth College (2023).
FUTURE COURSES
Undergraduate Courses
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Latinx Sociology (Fall 2024)
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Sociology of Aging (Fall 2024)
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Latino New Jersey (Spring 2025)
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Introduction to Sociology
Doctoral Courses
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Qualitative Methods
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Minority Aging
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Latina/o/x & Disability Justice
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Intersectional Carework: Immigrants as Providers and Receivers of Care
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How Students Learn
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Syllabus and Course Design
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Developing a Statement of Teaching Philosophy/Teaching
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Portfolio
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Peer Exchange of Statements of Teaching Philosophy
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Assessing Teaching and Learning
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Strategies for Efficient and Effective Grading
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Creating and Using Grading Rubrics
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Using Group Work Effectively
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Teaching Critical Reading
Workshops Attended for Certificate
In Teaching & Learning in Higher Education