Teaching a little Durkheim to my nephew...!
The classroom: a place to grow personally and cultivate community
In the spring of 2024, I designed and taught an upper-division undergraduate seminar based on my dissertation research, "Platform Work and Inequality." syllabus
I've also TA'ed undergraduate courses: (1) Introduction to Sociology (2) Sociological Methods (3) Classical and Contemporary Theory.
In 2024, I received a campus-wide award for mentorship of UC Berkeley students, both at the undergraduate and graduate level.
Students that I've taught and mentored come from a range of backgrounds, including: first generation students, the undocumented, the formerly incarcerated, and those living with disabilities. I consider it an essential part of my job to build an inclusive and equitable experience. My teaching is designed to build trust and understanding, which is the base from which students can safely venture outside of their zone of comfort in order to grow intellectually and (inter)personally.
Here are a few nice things that my students have said in their evaluations:
"David taught at a faculty level and I would not have known it was his first time facilitating a seminar if he had not mentioned it. He was accessible to all students: in–person/virtual weekly office hours, after/before class, very responsive via email, and wanted to ensure students focused on the learning experience rather than the grade. During my time at Berkeley, there is a lot of emphasis on grading and I rarely hear GSI/Professors discuss how they want students to engage in thoughtful discussions, write a research paper using a style that works for them, and give us (students) a lot of freedom when it came to the research paper."
"It's uncommon, but sometimes a mentor comes around that really sees you and takes genuine interest in your personal and professional life, and I feel lucky that David was that person for me. I am confident that he is an invaluable asset to any student he mentors, making each of us feel truly seen."
“David is diligent and meticulous. You can tell he is very dedicated to his role. He leaves very thoughtful and constructive comments on almost all memos and even though he had a lot of reading to do for the midterm, he made sure to leave a lot of feedback for us there too. I cannot thank David enough for all the work he has put in throughout the semester to ensure our success in the overall course.”
“If I was not about to graduate, I would take more and more classes with David without hesitation. He supplements the lecture material very well, he is very considerate and devoted to his students, and he is just a hard–working, intelligent individual to learn from.Thank you, David for making my last semester at Cal one to remember.”