Teaching Philosophy

Teaching media studies is not simply about analyzing entertainment—it is about equipping students to recognize, critique, and ultimately reshape the narratives that structure power, representation, and identity in their daily lives. My teaching is rooted in the belief that media is a living archive of cultural memory and ideology—and that classrooms can be portals where students learn to see themselves as critical participants in this archive.

Students often enter media studies classrooms with varied expectations: some seek professional pathways, others anticipate an entertaining exploration of pop culture. My role is to bridge those expectations and guide students beyond passive media consumption toward critical engagement, self-awareness, and active inquiry. I emphasize African American rhetoric, gender studies, and critical cultural studies, foregrounding how systems of race, class, gender, and geography shape media narratives and audience reception.

Critical Inquiry, Community, and Ancestral Responsibility

My teaching philosophy is shaped by three foundational commitments:

• Critical Self-Awareness
  I encourage students to recognize their own positionality within media discourse, and how media shapes—and is shaped by—their lived experiences. I challenge students to reflect on how they consume, interpret, and internalize media, particularly in relation to race, gender, and cultural identity.

• Interdisciplinary Media Analysis
  I draw upon perspectives from Black geographies, Afro-Filipino epistemologies, rhetorical studies, and cultural criticism, fostering an environment where students can interrogate dominant media narratives and understand their historical, social, and spatial contexts.

• Applied Media Criticism & Real-World Engagement
  I equip students with analytical tools to critique and dismantle media representations through case studies, contemporary media texts, and comparative analyses. My courses incorporate visual media, digital storytelling, collaborative platforms, and real-world examples—so students learn how media shapes public discourse and how they can intervene in it.

Beyond course content, I prioritize building an inclusive, student-centered learning environment rooted in mentorship, community, and care. I view the classroom as a site of re-membering and collective awakening—where students, particularly those from historically marginalized backgrounds, are seen, heard, and empowered to contribute their own knowledge and lived experience to the archive of media studies.

 Teaching as Ancestral Work

Through my mentorship with the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change, the Communication Ph.D. Pipeline Program (CP3), and other community initiatives, I have witnessed firsthand how teaching is a form of resistance and reclamation. I actively mentor students, guiding them to see themselves as scholars, storytellers, and knowledge producers. My participation in CP3: The Documentary reflects my deep commitment to lifting others as I climb—ensuring that my students, particularly first-generation and underrepresented scholars, have access to the tools and community necessary to succeed.

 I also recognize that meaningful learning happens through conversation and connection. My informal “watercooler” discussions at the end of class create space for students to draw connections between course material and contemporary cultural debates—from media bias in political reporting to the narrative politics of hip-hop culture. These moments encourage students to see that media discourse is never separate from the social, political, and spiritual landscapes they inhabit.

 Assessment, Accountability, and Liberation

I employ diverse, reflective, and rigorous assessment strategies. Exams, research projects, group collaborations, and creative media analyses are designed not for rote memorization, but to cultivate students’ critical thinking, media literacy, and rhetorical skill. My assignments center students’ lived experiences, encouraging them to apply theory and analysis to the media worlds they know and navigate.

For example, in my analysis of African American media representation, students engage with texts like Color Adjustment and Enlightened Racism, interrogating how race, class, and ideology shape media narratives. I also challenge students to write from their own perspectives, drawing upon autoethnography and lived experience to re-write themselves into media discourse—because knowledge is not neutral, and they are not passive consumers.

Preparing Students for a Media Landscape in Flux

In a media landscape shaped by rapid technological change, algorithmic bias, and cultural fragmentation, students must learn to be both critical consumers and intentional creators. My teaching prepares them to navigate and challenge dominant narratives, to recognize the ideological underpinnings of media, and to engage in ethical, equitable storytelling.

Ultimately, I teach because I believe that media education can awaken students to their own power. My goal is to foster not only critical thinkers, but carriers of cultural memory, resistance, and imagination—students who can step through the portal of the classroom and into the world prepared to reshape it.

I view teaching as an ongoing, dynamic, and relational practice, shaped by new research, student experience, and the ancestral knowledge I carry. Every course I teach is an invitation to awaken, to question, and to re-member that the stories we tell—and the ones we consume—shape the world we live in.