DANIEL COLLETTE

I find that my research naturally informs my teaching. I believe that students do best when challenged as researchers. As such, I give them source materials and teach research and research methods, to guide them in learning to write from informed perspectives. My pedagogy emphasizes the principle that education should contribute to living well. As a result, my undergraduate teaching style focuses on active, experiential learning both inside and outside the classroom. For example, when exploring Stoicism, I ask undergraduates to live like a Stoic for a day. When teaching Existentialism, I use virtual reality to explore human irrationality, having students walk out of the 80th floor of a skyscraper onto a wooden plank (see Collette, 2019).

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I also actively work to create an inclusive classroom environment. To me, inclusivity spans course design, showcasing diverse philosophers and philosophies; course assignments including readings from and presentations on philosophers from historically underrepresented groups; and student work ranging from traditional papers to digital humanities projects. I find that the variety of assignments provides students the opportunity to grow, while also giving them the space to successfully demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the material.

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As you can see, I am proficient also in academic hand gestures.

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There is a recording of my presentation at Hamilton College's conference on pedagogical innovation (2019), "Existentialism Relived: Reflections on Experiential Learning" available for viewing in the Hamilton College digital commons.