• Welcome
• C.V.
• Teaching
  • The First Amendment
  • Religion and Democracy
  • Teaching Evaluations
• Scholarship
  • Book Project
  • Published Work
  • Works in Progress
• Personal

My teaching interests lie at the the nexus of public law and political theory. The courses of primary interest to me are the First Amendment, philosophy of law, law and religion, administrative law, and federal courts. The first-year classes in which I am most interested are criminal law, constitutional law, civil procedure, and torts.

I taught two semesters of a course on the First Amendment to undergraduates at the University of North Carolina. My teaching evaluations are available here. This spring, I am teaching a course on Religion and Liberal Democracy at Duke Law School.

My aim as a teacher is threefold: to present concepts and ideas in a clear and accessible manner, to encourage critical thinking, and to help my students become better writers.

I begin with the importance of clarity because without it even my best ideas will fail to reach my students. In many ways, I see the seemingly disparate aspects of my life as opportunities to practice the clear articulation of ideas. Professionally, my experience with government contracts litigation in the Air Force and complex civil litigation in the private sector has taught me the importance of translating technical concepts to an understandable level. In my graduate work and writing, my interdisciplinary interests helped me to see the importance of pursuing intelligible dialogue across departments. In the classroom, I present challenging concepts in a clear and accessible manner by incorporating relevant and interesting case studies that engage students with issues that matter to them.

I view critical thinking as essential to recognizing both sides of an argument and the shades of gray in between. I encourage students to articulate positions with which they disagree in order to sharpen their own views. I want students to learn from each other and be surprised by unanticipated insights from their classmates. To this end, I have successfully incorporated small group discussions and peer review of verbal and written performance into each meeting of my classes.

Finally, I am committed to teaching strong writing skills. When I teach, I usually assign term papers and set deadlines for multiple drafts to ensure that students learn the value of reflecting upon and revising their writing. In classes of over thirty students, I have provided detailed feedback and criticism on the substance, structure, and grammar of these drafts.

I believe that part of the privilege of academia is sharing my life as well as my knowledge, and I am committed to excellence and enthusiasm in my teaching as well as my writing.