How & Why I Teach This Text: See Transformative Teaching in Action

Learn how to engage students with transformative texts. Watch videos of impassioned teacher-scholars on how they make texts accessible and engaging, how they encourage students to reflect on civic responsibilities, and the motivations they bring to reinvigorating the role of the humanities in general education.

Recordings

02.15.2024 | WEBINAR

Sarah Igo on Teaching Plato and bell hooks

Professor Sarah Igo of Vanderbilt University describes how she teaches Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” and bell hooks’ “Democratic Education” together.
Sarah Igo on Teaching Plato and bell hooks >
10.26.2023 | WEBINAR

JP Messina on Teaching Smith and Dickens

Professor JP Messina of Purdue University describes how he teaches Charles Dickens' Hard Times with Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations and Theory of Moral Sentiments.

JP Messina on Teaching Smith and Dickens >
10.06.2023 | WEBINAR

How I Teach This Text: Morrison and Music

Professor Melanie Hill of Rutgers University-Newark describes how she teaches Toni Morrison’s Beloved with the help of music.

How I Teach This Text: Morrison and Music >
03.10.2023 | WEBINAR

Fannie Bialek on teaching Plato and Baldwin Together

Fannie Bialek of Washington University in St. Louis describes how she teaches Plato's Allegory of the Cave with James Baldwin's 1963 'A Talk to Teachers.'

Fannie Bialek on teaching Plato and Baldwin Together >
02.02.2023 | WEBINAR

How I Teach This Text: George Orwell's 1984

Professor Swati Srivastava, assistant professor of political science at Purdue University, describes how she teaches George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984.

How I Teach This Text: George Orwell's 1984 >
10.28.2022 | WEBINAR

How I Teach This Text: Lincoln's First Inaugural (1861)

Matthew Pinsker, Professor of History & Pohanka Chair in American Civil War History at Dickinson College, on how he teaches Lincoln's First Inaugural.

How I Teach This Text: Lincoln's First Inaugural (1861) >
09.22.2022 | WEBINAR

How I Teach This Text: Nella Larsen’s Passing

Emily Bernard, Julian Lindsay Green & Gold Professor of English at the University of Vermont, on how she teaches Nella Larsen's Passing.
How I Teach This Text: Nella Larsen’s Passing >
04.21.2022 | WEBINAR

How I Teach This Text: Teaching Poetry

Rutgers Professor Rachel Hadas and Vanderbilt Professor Major Jackson on engaging students in analyzing poetry.
How I Teach This Text: Teaching Poetry >
03.31.2022 | WEBINAR

How I Teach This Text: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

Princeton Professor Deborah Nord and Purdue Professor Melinda Zook on how they teach Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein to students concentrating in STEM.
How I Teach This Text: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein >
03.02.2022 | WEBINAR

Hear from Knowledge for Freedom Students

Alumni from Knowledge for Freedom (KFF) programs speak about the texts that challenged, excited and remained with them from their high school summers.

Hear from Knowledge for Freedom Students >
02.10.2022 | WEBINAR

How I Teach This Text: Herman Melville's Bartleby, the Scrivener

Andrew Delbanco, President of the Teagle Foundation, on how he teaches Herman Melville's Bartleby, the Scrivener.

How I Teach This Text: Herman Melville's Bartleby, the Scrivener >
12.02.2021 | WEBINAR

How I Teach This Text: Shakespeare's Hamlet

Elizabeth Samet on how she teaches Shakespeare's Hamlet.

How I Teach This Text: Shakespeare's Hamlet >
11.19.2021 | WEBINAR

How I Teach This Text: Ursula K. Le Guin's The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

Stephanie Almeida Nevin on how she teaches Ursula K. Le Guin's "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" to students. 
How I Teach This Text: Ursula K. Le Guin's The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas >
11.04.2021 | WEBINAR

Roosevelt Montás on Rescuing Socrates

Roosevelt Montás discusses his new book, Rescuing Socrates: How the Great Books Changed My Life and Why They Matter for a New Generation

Roosevelt Montás on Rescuing Socrates >
10.07.2021 | WEBINAR

Betts and Jackson on Teaching with Transformative Texts

Reginald Dwayne Betts in conversation with Major Jackson on why reading and writing matter.
Betts and Jackson on Teaching with Transformative Texts >
09.24.2021 | WEBINAR

How I Teach This Text: Ibn Tufayl's Hayy Ibn Yaqzan

Heather Ohaneson on how she teaches Ibn Tufayl's Hayy Ibn Yaqzan to high school students.
How I Teach This Text: Ibn Tufayl's Hayy Ibn Yaqzan >
05.14.2021 | WEBINAR

How I Teach this Text: Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan

Dan-el Padilla Peralta on how he teaches Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan.
How I Teach this Text: Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan >
03.12.2021 | WEBINAR

Teaching Transformative Texts to High School Students

Roosevelt Montás on how he teaches The Souls of Black Folk to high school students.
Teaching Transformative Texts to High School Students >
03.12.2021 | WEBINAR

The Cornerstone Approach to Reinvigorating the Humanities Through General Education

Learn more about the “Cornerstone” approach to reinvigorating the role of the humanities through general education.
The Cornerstone Approach to Reinvigorating the Humanities Through General Education >
01.27.2021 | WEBINAR

How I Teach This Text: Plato's "Apology"

Bryan Garsten on how he teaches Plato's "Apology."
How I Teach This Text: Plato's "Apology" >
11.04.2020 | WEBINAR

Maintaining Momentum for Great Questions Seminars

Theodore Hadzi-Antich on maintaining momentum for Great Questions Seminars at Austin Community College.
Maintaining Momentum for Great Questions Seminars >
10.15.2020 | WEBINAR

Transformative Texts for an Emancipatory Education

Roosevelt Montás explains how to teach transformative texts for an emancipatory education.
Transformative Texts for an Emancipatory Education >
10.15.2020 | WEBINAR

How I Teach This Text: Cicero's "Speech in Defense of the Poet Archias"

Dan-el Padilla Peralta on how he teaches Cicero's "Speech in Defense of the Poet Archias"
How I Teach This Text: Cicero's "Speech in Defense of the Poet Archias" >
10.15.2020 | WEBINAR

Giant Leaps for the Liberal Arts

Melinda Zook describes how Purdue launched the Cornerstone Integrated Liberal Arts certificate to reinvigorate the role of the humanities in general education.
Giant Leaps for the Liberal Arts >
10.15.2020 | WEBINAR

Reinvigorating the Role of the Humanities in General Education

Teagle President Andrew Delbanco describes motivations and models for transforming general education through the humanities.
Reinvigorating the Role of the Humanities in General Education >
10.08.2020 | WEBINAR

How I Teach This Text: What to the Slave is the 4th of July

This video features Roosevelt Montás on how he teaches "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July" by Frederick Douglass.
How I Teach This Text: What to the Slave is the 4th of July >
07.16.2020 | WEBINAR

Knowledge for Freedom: Columbia's Freedom and Citizenship Model

Knowledge for Freedom programs invite underserved high school students to study enduring works of literature and philosophy that raise deep questions about leading lives of purpose and civic responsibility.
Knowledge for Freedom: Columbia's Freedom and Citizenship Model >