Faculty Development Plan
French & Italian
2006
Self-Evaluation Statement
I completed by doctoral program at the University of Washington in 2005, and have taught at Brigham Young in the department of French & Italian for two semesters. The performance and productivity evaluations that I have received from my department chair have ranged from “right on track” to “excellent,” and my student ratings have all been above average.
I am also very glad to bring to my department experience in a field that has been underrepresented in recent years (20th-century and immigrant literature in France), as well as to profit from the well-rounded and exceptional faculty that surround me.
Teaching
In the time I have spent at Brigham Young, I have taught two different courses, neither of which I have ever taught before. (As a graduate student at the University of Washington I taught courses in grammar and civilization for nine years.)
These courses are both mainstay offerings of the department, and I counseled with faculty members both prior to and throughout both semesters as to teaching strategies I might employ and pedagogical elements to serve my students.
In their comments to me, my students found me knowledgeable and approachable, and appreciated the element of humor that I brought to bear on some truly stultifying texts and authors, or the manner in which I situated and contextualized the literature so as to expose detail and author intent.
I have counseled several undergraduate and Master’s students on projects related to my fields of specialization, on the recommendation of department colleagues, and have had occasion to mentor an ORCA grant.
Teaching philosophy: I will ground all of the course material in the relevant context, so as to arrive at author intent, the circumstances of production, and relevance for today. I will shun “art for art’s sake” in presenting course materials.
Teaching objectives: I will allow the students to consider the texts in question with respect to their own experience, and assist their effort to find these relevant to our present time and to appreciate their “importance” to the French literary tradition.
Teaching strategies: I will select for discussion works that both reflect the literary tradition and remain accessible to the lay reader. I will contextualize the material and tease out those qualities that render the work unique or representative of a time or movement.
A glaring weakness of mine, discussed with both my faculty mentor and the department chair, is my tendency to present and to lecture—often at the expense of classroom discussion. This concern I have addressed by the use of prepared questions addressed to the students, or elements of the reading to consider before lecture, in order that discussion commence early and spontaneously—as integral to the lecture, in fact—and without the need for my feeling that I must “interrogate” my students. I have also targeted homework assignments to this end, and asked that select students prepare remarks in advance of lecture, based on their impression of the readings.
And this is my short-term goal: to continue to refine methods to generate and sustain classroom interaction, while never failing to present the materials that would anchor our texts in their historical, cultural, or societal sod; an Oreo® cookie-modeled fantasy of Context, Discussion, and Context, as it were.
My long-term goal is to develop courses that respond to particular interests and the needs of the department, drawing from such courses as exist at present, and coordinating my efforts with the chair and department colleagues.
Scholarship
My career in scholarship began quite early in that I was recruited by the Center for the Study of Europe to address a conference titled “Islam in the European Public Sphere” sponsored by both Brigham Young and the University of Utah, which papers were then revised for inclusion in the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. This is likely to appear in January 2007.
I am presently at work on a second article, and will profit from a research trip this summer to develop ideas for a third.
My short-term goals relate to regular submission and a tidy writing schedule.
My mid-term goal is to have five pieces published or accepted for submission by my third-year review, and to parlay the scholarship in which I am presently engaged (in addition to my dissertation) into a book-length project, to appear after said review.
Service
As a first-year faculty member, I was given a smaller than average number of citizenship appointments, which has allowed me to spend a great deal of time developing my courses, carrying out original research, and responding to the needs of my students. For this I have been thankful.
At present I serve as faculty French Club member, and on the curriculum committee.
The chair has noted my perfect attendance at faculty meetings, and I have strived to be available for colleagues and students alike in the roles I have played in the organizations mentioned. I have thoughtfully considered and lent my voice to changes proposed to the curriculum and course description, and remain interested in the direction of the department.
As suggested by my mentor, I will plan to spend additional time on campus and in my office (in the name of “collegiality”) to develop the ties to colleagues and students that this position requires.
I also took part in the Romance Languages and Literature “Blues Jam” hosted by a department colleague, and I believe that we threw down some tasty licks.
Summary
I believe that I have hit the ground running, and the department chair has said as much, saying that I am “right on track” to pass the third-year review.
I have every intention to prove him right, and will take every advantage of the opportunities I’ve been provided to teach and develop new courses, carry out and expand upon original research, and put into action the counsel I received throughout the Faculty Development Program.
My coursework and course ratings have improved, and I feel at ease in my position as a teacher/student mentor. The research in which I am engaged is exciting and original, and will, it is my hope, shed a positive light upon out campus and the programs that we offer.