I have designed and taught courses in social epidemiology, social psychology, sociological theory, demography, health policy, and the sociology of mental illness. I have an active interest in improving the well-being of college students, and I have published resources for faculty who wish to better care for the mental health of their students. Below, courses are listed by the semester in which they were first taught, with more recent curricula at the top.
Population and Society, University of Utah
[Spring 2026; see Syllabus]
This course introduces students to the core concerns of formal demography, namely fertility, mortality, and migration, while placing them within a broader social context. Discussions of migration are paired with debates about the rise of nativism and white nationalism; concerns about declining fertility are accompanied by a review of the pronatalist movement; studies on mortality are examined in light of pressing concerns about the rise of dementia and the American caregiving shortage. Meanwhile, we address contemporary demographic trends such as the rise of same-sex parenting, the persistence of racial health disparities, and the shifting relationship between education and political partisanship. Students work on their own research projects throughout the semester.
Sociological Theory, University of Utah
[Fall 2025; see Syllabus]
My sociological theory course blends classical and contemporary theory, featuring scholars on both sides of the Atlantic. After tackling the classic triumvirate of Durkheim, Marx, and Weber, we address theories of race and gender (DuBois, hooks, and others), critical theory from the Frankfurt School (Marcuse, Fromm, etc.), symbolic interactionism and dramaturgical theory (Blumer, Mead, Goffman, and Hochschild), and more recent scholars such as Foucault and Bourdieu. The course offers a broad survey of sociological theory and encourages students to connect theoretical arguments with contemporary issues facing our own society.
Social Psychology, University of Utah
[Fall 2024; see Syllabus]
I teach social psychology from a sociological perspective, drawing on the three “faces” proposed by James House: psychological social psychology (e.g., classic studies like the Milgram experiment), symbolic interactionism (e.g., the work of Mead and Blumer) and psychological sociology (also called social structure and personality). We discuss classic theories of social psychology and apply them to contemporary issues such as therapeutic culture, Instagram influencers, and rising political extremism in the United States.
Health, Society & Policy (HSP) Capstone, University of Utah
[Spring 2024; Spring 2025; see Syllabus]
I co-teach this course on health policy with three other instructors; we bring guest lecturers to address a rotating theme and students work in small groups to design a policy around this theme. Recent themes include wildfires and health (e.g., whether prisoners should be used as firefighters) and technology and health (e.g., how to regulate AI-based mental health treatment).
Social Epidemiology, University of Utah
[Fall 2023; Fall 2024; Spring 2025; Fall 2025; Spring 2026; see Syllabus]
I teach this upper-level course on the social determinants of health and mortality, with an emphasis on population disparities, their origins, and potential policy interventions to address them. We review contemporary debates in social epidemiology, including youth distress and the role of social media, “deaths of despair” in the American heartland, and policy decisions that address or exacerbate health disparities.
Sociology of Mental Illness, Indiana University
[Fall 2020; see Syllabus]
Taught a hybrid version of this upper-level course (48 students), meeting once per week in person and once per week via Zoom. As the sole instructor, I designed every aspect of the course, including three exams, two short writing assignments, and a semester-long research project.
Survey of Sociology, University of Wisconsin–Madison
[Teaching Assistant, Fall 2016; see Syllabus]:
Taught two sections of this writing-intensive course (15 students each, with twice-a-week discussions ). I designed the entire TA syllabus and was given leeway with nearly all aspects of the course design, including crafting, evaluating, and grading all written and oral assignments (7 per student), and creating twice-weekly lesson plans.
Marriage and the Family, University of Wisconsin–Madison [Teaching Assistant, Spring 2017; see Syllabus]:
Taught five sections of this introductory course (nearly 20 students each, with once-a-week discussions). I collaborated with two other teaching assistants to produce a TA syllabus and weekly lesson plans.