Heather Stewart, PhD

One of my central goals in teaching is to foster understanding and respect for people with different backgrounds, identities, and experiences, as well as for different ideas, arguments, and points of view. Pedagogically, I try to do this by teaching students strategies that allow for the effective communication of ideas and emotions, as well as strategies for listening well to the perspectives of others.

I frequently try to incorporate a diversity of voices into classroom discussions, both in terms of the content, and in terms of encouraging diverse students to engage openly. Additionally, I find it imperative in an ever-changing world to prepare students for a range of potential careers, and I do this by focusing on the development of transferable skills: critical thinking, clear communication, effective argumentation, charitable engagement with the positions of others, close reading, and efficient writing. The practice and improvement of these skills has benefits far beyond the university classroom.