Teaching

Selected teaching experience:

As a course instructor:

  • Bioethics: An intermediate introduction to bioethics, focusing on issues and debates from the previous five years. PHL281: Fall 2025, Winter 2025, Winter 2024.
  • Ethics: Death & Dying. An advanced introduction to the bioethics of death and dying. PHL382: Summer 2023, Summer 2022, Summer 2021, Summer 2020. Here is a sample outline and sample exam questions.
  • Ethics & Mental Health. An advanced introduction to psychiatric bioethics. PHL383: Winter 2026, Fall 2024, Fall 2021.
  • Introduction to Philosophy. Co-taught with Julia Smith. A topics-based introduction to philosophy. My sections covered topics in ontology, personal identity, philosophy of religion, and political philosophy. PHL100: Summer 2018.
  • The Socrates Project (Advanced Topics in Philosophy): A senior seminar attached to “The Socrates Project” for undergraduate TAs, covering advanced issues in the history of philosophy and professional development in philosophy. PHL489: Fall 2025 – Spring 2026.
  • Topics in Applied Ethics. A senior seminar on practical ethics, the first half focused on issues in practical moral methodology: how do we “do” practical ethics? The second half focused on students’ research projects in practical ethics. PHL413: Winter 2022.
  • Topics in Bioethics: An advanced introduction to the role of philosophy in interdisciplinary bioethics theory and practice. PHLC10: Summer 2023.
  • Topics in Chinese Philosophy. Instructor, upon the passing of Vincent Shen. An advance seminar focused on close readings in classical Daoism. We focused on selections from the Zhuangzi, the Guodian texts, and the Guanzi. PHL337: Fall 2018.
  • Topics in Ethical Theory. An advanced lecture course focusing on the roles of bodies and embodiment in historical and contemporary ethical theory. PHLC06: Summer 2019. PHL375: Summer 2018.
  • Topics in Non-Western Philosophy. An advanced introduction to global philosophy, focusing on what counts as “Non-Western Philosophy” and on the values of knowledge. PHLC14: Summer 2020.

As a guest lecturer:

  • Primarily topics in disability studies, medical ethics and epistemology, personal identity, and gender.
  • Courses: Advanced Topics in Philosophy; Bioethics; Graduate Public Health Policy Collaborative Specialization; Ethics, Genetics, and Reproduction; Interdependence; Introduction to Ethics; Introduction to Health; Introduction to Philosophy; Media Ethics (Toronto Metropolitan U); Social Issues; Theory of Knowledge (GW Williams SS).

As a teaching assistant:

  • Philosophy: Belief, Knowledge, Truth; Business Ethics; Environmental Ethics; Ethical Theory; History of Chinese Philosophy; Introduction to Ethics; Introduction to Philosophy; Persons, Minds, and Bodies; Philosophy of Human Sexuality; Philosophy of Natural Science; Philosophy of Race; Philosophy of Religion; Practical Reason & Human Agency; Social Issues.
  • Bioethics and Health Studies: Ethics and Medical Research; Ethics: Death and Dying; Ethics, Genetics, and Reproduction; Introduction to Bioethics; Introduction to Health: Determinants of Health and Healthcare; Topics in Bioethics.

Teaching awards and evaluations:

Letters of reference

  • I am very willing to support former students in graduate applications, especially for programs related to public health, bioethics, disability studies, or philosophy. To request a letter of reference, please email me with an informative subject line to start a discussion at least two weeks before your deadline. Where possible, use the same email address that you used while in a course with me. Letter request times tend to be academically busy times (at end of term). If you don’t hear back from me within two business days, please send me another nudge!
  • For students requesting a letter for the first time, I will require that we first meet in person or online to discuss your goals, application materials, and whether/how I can be an appropriate reference. In these cases, you should aim to contact me at least four weeks before your application is due. For all other students, I typically require at least two week’s notice to appropriately review and update your existing reference letters for your new applications and programs.

Looking for a syllabus or resources?

  • Syllabi: You’re very welcome to email me for the reading lists or assignments from my past courses, though note that I very rarely teach the same course in the same way twice. You can also email me to discuss plans for upcoming courses. Any upcoming courses will be listed on my homepage. A simplified sample course outline and a sample exam are currently available for my bioethics of death and dying course.
  • Resources: I am gradually digitizing some of my teaching and learning resources. You can find those listed under the “Resources” tab at the top of the page, or by clicking here.