projects

Betsy Centeno is a PhD student in Psychology. Their zine is based on TA experience in Community Psychology, a course that "challenges traditional psych by critically examining power and oppression." Topics explored include immigration, housing, the university, colonialism, racism, and gender & sexuality. 

Julie Gonzalez is a Lecturer in Economics. In her project, "How to Have Difficult Economic Policy Discussions," she describes how topics including tariffs, social security, income inequality, H1-b visas, and healthcare as a right can be discussed in ways that are "professional as well as dedicated to the rules of evidence and debate." 

Tiffany Wong is a Lecturer in the Writing Program. In Rhetoric & Inquiry (WRIT 2), Wong engaged students in "difficult conversations" through a series of writing exercises and group discussions focused on ethical dilemmas, moral injury, "bridging" (john a. powell), and the veteran experience. A veteran of multiple US wars helped students reflect on their changing conceptions of patriotism, nationalism, militarism, and power.

Amanda Lashaw, a Lecturer in Education, used film and critical dialogue in her course, Popular Education, Democracy & Social Movements (EDUC 110), to navigate students' experiences with ableism. How do people committed to liberation of oppressed groups meet the needs of communities with disabilities? 

Maywa Montenegro is an associate professor in Environmental Studies. In her new course, Race and the Environment (ENVS 178), Montenegro combined techniques from the TLC guide (affective learning, self-reflection, and critical inquiry) with popular education methods to facilitate dialogue on topics including racial capitalism, settler colonialism, university landgrabs, AI racialization, pollution-as-colonialism, decolonizing environmental studies, and more.

Zeka Glucs is a Lecturer in Environmental Studies. Her course, California Condor Conservation, opened up opportunities to discuss a few "hotly debated issues" including gun control and the connections between ecocide and genocide. Glucs reflects on stumbling blocks that had previously prevented her from approaching contentious issues in class—and shares some surprises learned along the way.

Haedong Rho, a graduate student in Economics, works as a teaching assistant for Introduction to Econometrics. A sensitive geopolitical conflict became an emotionally charged and politically salient issue on campus, a student expressed frustration about continuing to teach "as if nothing happened." Rho describes the TLC methods they used to make space for emotion and conflict without abandoning their instructional mission.  

Hyunjin Yun, is graduate student in Economics who, alongside Haedong Rho, works as a TA for Introduction to Econometrics. In 2024-25, an unexpected shift in instruction partway through the quarter left students anxious and concerned about evaluation. Yun describes how the TLC guidelines helped them respond with empathy and care.  They emphasize the value of clear, actionable goals and reassurance that TAs understand students' perspective. 

Edith Gonzales, a recent graduate from Environmental Studies PhD program, taught Justice & Sustainability in Agriculture as instructor of record in Winter 2025. In her zine, Gonzales relates how she drew upon Critical Latinx Indigeneities, Black Ecologies, and other ethnic studies traditions to nurture relational space in the classroom. Embodied and somatic methods—what are you feeling, not just what are you thinking—challenged students to pay attention to what happens to their whole selves when they consider politically salient topics such as how their freedom is connected to other communities' freedom. 

Katie Monsen, a Lecturer in Environmental Studies taught Agroecology & Sustainable Agriculture (ENVS 130A/L) in Summer 2025. This course combines lecture, discussion, and case studies to explore the biophysical and sociocultural aspects of agroecosystems. Monsen included a "conversations journal" to encourage students to bridge course content with questions, concerns, and debates that are alive for students. This brought out some real opportunities to break free from colonial practices in the classroom, since, as the students put it, "going onto farms and doing extractive data collection without reciprocity felt wrong."

Dev Bose is an Associate Professor of Teaching in the Writing Program. In his course, Writing 2: Rhetoric and Inquiry (Summer 2025), he will be experimenting with community guidelines and online Discussion Boards as a means to try out "new rules of engagement."