Teaching

Teaching has played a valuable role in my development as a researcher, communicator, and leader. Over the past five years I have taught 20 courses and 800+ undergraduates as instructor of record at the University of Arizona. My teaching philosophy is built on the idea that student learn when they can see the course material in their everyday lives. I implement this philosophy through hands-on activities, self-directed writing assignments, and inclusion in all of the courses I teach.​

"She made such difficult courses easy and so exciting to learn and made I bet others just as myself, comfortable in learning the material."

"I liked how she made everything simple and to the point."

"She showed respect to everybody."

"I felt engaged and as though I learned something from each assignment."

"Thank you for such an eye opening 7 weeks. I never thought I would enjoy a class like this but it really showed me more about myself and those around me. I am sad to see these weeks go by so fast for I loved writing my memos and taking notes on all the presentations!"

"Very thorough and clear"

"Thanks for making my life easy and having such an enjoyable course!"

"Morgan demonstrates nothing but a passion and love for her students and the course material. I had the pleasure of taking one of her classes this past semester and I wish I was able to take more of her classes sooner in my educational career."

"Thank you so much for such an incredible, insightful and eye-opening class! I enjoyed every minute of it."

"Take any of her classes if you get the chance!"

Courses

In Introduction to Sociology, students gain a fundamental understanding of sociological ideas. They learn how to connect sociological concepts to human behaviors and interactions at the micro and macro-level and their own lived experiences.​​

In Sports and Society, students explore relevant sociological literature and empirical research on sports and develop an understanding of sports as a social and cultural phenomenon. They learn how to look beyond game scores and performance and think critically about sports, recognizing and understanding the social issues associated with sports in society.

In Gender Identities, Interactions, and Relationships, students investigate the social meanings and structures that underpin gender identities, interactions, and relationships. They develop the ability to think critically about gender and how it affects both micro (e.g., daily social interactions) and macro (e.g., major social institutions) level processes by connecting concepts with social issues and real-world scenarios.

In Men and Masculinities, students explore the growing body of sociological literature on men and masculinities. They take on their own assumptions about gender and masculinity by uncovering how masculinities vary across time, place, and people using empirical research and real world observation. They also develop a greater understanding of gender inequality by examining how masculinities may be used to sustain men’s power.

In Sociology of the Body, students examine many of the different ways that society shapes the body and the body shapes society by engaging in real-world observations, personal reflections, interviews, and content analysis. Students develop a more nuanced understanding of the social factors that dictate how and why we discipline our bodies. As a result, they strengthen their ability to critically assess the institutions that shape our understanding of the body and how society imposes the ideas that health and illness are individual responsibilities and pathologies. Students are prepared for taking on assumptions and addressing social, economic, and environmental factors that are harmful to the body.

In Sociology of Gender, students engage in critical examinations of the ways that gender organizes our social experiences by reading scholarly articles and participating in real-world observations, experiments, interviews, and class discussions. Students develop a deeper understanding of concepts such as masculinity and femininity as well as a more nuanced view of how gender shapes people’s experiences in the workplace, at home, and in the media. They will emerge more capable of sociological inquiry and with an informed perspective on the ways that individuals produce and reproduce gender. These abilities enable them to better articulate and address issues of gender inequality.

Syllabi and course materials are available upon request.