Valentina Pagliai

Anthropology
Ph.D. UCLA

e-mail: vpagliai@hunter.cuny.edu

My teaching philosophy.

I believe that education should create an open field for the expression of diversity and individual creativity. Being a good teacher, for me, means understanding my students as unique individuals, each of them with particular strengths, each able to pursue a successful career in the right environment. It is my goal as a teacher to help them find that right environment, so that they may realize themselves to their fullest.

Responsibility and Service Learning. I expect my students to take an active role in learning. Personal responsibility is fundamental to me as I look at my students not just as future professionals or scientists, but especially as citizens. I see my role as teacher in giving them the theoretical and methodological means to apply what they learn, to tackle research in first person, and to reflect on the role of research in the larger communities of which they are part. I encourage students to consider service learning and I include that as an option in many of my classes.

Teaching complexity. I believe a teacher should stimulate the students to “think beyond,” always maintaining a questioning attitude. In my classes, I try to be a "stimulator" to think, proposing new and old questions to the attention of the students, pointing at problems and differring interpretations.

Multiple ways of learning. In addition to lecturing, I use videoclips, websites, exercises and news reports to engage the students with the class topics. When possible, I invite external speakers to present their research. I reserve time for students to discuss, present their own work, lead class discussion, or work with each other in smaller groups. When appropriate, my students carry out small research projects during my courses, engaging in data gathering and data analysis, either individually or in groups. The students generally enjoy this hands-on approach to learning, and this allows me to teach them theoretical concepts and methods at the same time.

Interdisciplinary Learning. I am committed to interdisciplinary learning and my courses are structured to create interdisciplinary connections. In the past, many have been cross-listed with programs and departments such as gender studies, contemporary American studies, cognitive studies and international studies.

Courses

Introduction to Linguistics (Syllabus 2011)
Language and Human Experience (same as Culture and Communication)
Language and Culture (Syllabus 2005 - Syllabus 2009)
Language and Social Identity (Syllabus 2009)
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology (Syllabus 2005 - Syllabus 2010)
Discourse, Nationhood and Racism (Syllabus 2006)
Language, Gender and Sexual Identities (Syllabus 2006)
Native Americans: Contemporary Issues (Syllabus 2006)
Introduction to Linguistic Anthropology (Syllabus 2004)
Language and Cognition (Syllabus 2005)
Art, Language and Society (Syllabus 2003)
Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective (Syllabus 2002)
Micro-ethnography of Communication (Syllabus 2001)

(See brief descriptions here)

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CUNY Hunter College
Department of Anthropology
695 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10065
Telephone: (212)772-5410

UCLA Department of Anthropology
375 Portola Plaza
341 Haines Hall, Box 951553
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1553
Ph: 310-825-2055
Fx: 310-206-7833