Emily K. Carian
Teaching
Lecturing for the Program in American Language and Culture, Stanford University, 2017.
Teaching Philosophy
In my teaching, I seek to make the material accessible to all students and build students’ practical skills. I am deliberate in my teaching and enjoy reflecting on and improving my practice.
I believe the most effective classrooms are those that are accessible to all students. To that end, I design collaborative and inquiry-based lessons, plan multiple checks for understanding, and scaffold assignments. I provide students with ample practice through worksheets and in-class activities before they have more formal assessments. I am also committed to ensuring all students see their lived experiences reflected in course material by deliberately selecting readings by a diverse group of authors on diverse topics.
I am committed to helping students build practical skills they can apply in academia and beyond. I recognize that not all students will become sociologists, but all students will benefit from developing the skills required of sociologists: critical and creative thinking, clear communication, and collaboration. I design my courses so students can practice these essential skills.
You can access a selection of my syllabi and course materials by clicking on “Teaching Materials” on the navigation menu above.
Testimonials from Student Evaluations
“Professor Carian is an amazing instructor. She is also very empathetic to the diverse needs of her students. She has gone above and beyond to make us feel heard and safe despite the many injustices we have experienced this semester. I visited her almost every week this semester to discuss questions I had about the content. I struggled the first few weeks of class but working over examples with her in office hours really helped me understand the content and improve from there on. I also was comfortable enough to discuss graduation plans and career interests with Professor Carian. I truly learned so much from her, she is an amazing instructor!” - Student in Sociology 3070, Quantitative Analysis and Survey Research
“The lectures were really helpful! I feel like it is really hard to teach ‘how to write’ well, but professor lectures were structured and organized and delivered a lot of writing advice. I also believe sharing her own work and other professors work were helpful because we were able to have a strong guideline to conduct our research. The feedback were thorough, and she gives feedback within a day, which is not common for most other classes. She also sent us mid-quarter evaluation form to improve or adjust the course structure. She really listens and cares about us. She also sent us emails about other grad school or research opportunities -- she travelled to Seattle [to the PSA conference] with us in order to support us even though we were not taking a class with her during winter quarter. Professor Carian was the most supportive Professor during my time at UCI. It was a great opportunity to work closely with a professor, and I am so so glad that I took this class this year!” - Student in Sociology 188BW, Honors Research and Thesis
“This class was one of my least stressful classes. Because of this environment, I was able to learn much more. Professor Carian was clear in her explanations and always understanding and helpful, giving me the motivation and excitement to attend this class.” - Student in Sociology 31, Self-Identity and Society
“Overall, I really enjoyed this course. While initially hesitant about the level of group work during lecture, I found this part of the class to be especially engaging. I enjoyed the chance to talk with my peers about the course material and found that it offered me new perspectives on the topics we covered in the readings and in class. I also found the format of the final project to be very creative and one that I haven't encountered in another class before.” - Student in Sociology 69, Masculinities