Statement of Teaching Philosophy for Michael Weeks

University history courses should provide students with the content knowledge, skills, and opportunities that enable them to think independently, evaluate evidence, draw plausible conclusions, and apply their learning broadly. I emphasize these outcomes as students advance through their history education.  

I prioritize growth in theoretical and methodological sophistication as students progress in their history education, actively supporting the outcomes addressed in methodologies courses. For example, while teaching an upper division course focused on the American Southwest, I introduced students to an onsite manuscript collection from Maria Berriozabal, San Antonio’s first Latina city councilperson. After analyzing relevant historiographical debates and reading broadly in the archives, they developed their own research queries based on one of Berriozabal’s initiatives, located documents that could help them answer their questions, conducted at least one local interview, and wrote argumentative essays. My instruction centered on historiography, archive navigation, organization of evidence, and writing histories that addressed debates within the field. In service to the larger community, students created digital collections out of the sources they uncovered and shared their findings during a campus meeting attended by faculty, students, and Ms. Berriozabal. 

Graduate courses require students to move from competency to proficiency within skills they should already possess while enabling them to gain confidence in skills they may not have acquired previously. My graduate courses prioritize the development of original research and growth in the ability to navigate archival sources. Readings courses place a stronger emphasis on the development of well-rounded historiographical knowledge within multiple subfields and opportunities to gain confidence through dialogue on debates within these fields. Students should also have plentiful opportunities to practice field-specific writing such as book reviews and peer commentary on works in progress. Finally, I recognize the need for some flexibility for students whose aim is not academia. Consequently, I offer opportunities for students to meet course requirements through products such as portfolios, museum reviews, and annotated course syllabi.  

I aim to narrow economic and social equity gaps as part of my larger commitment to students. This takes several forms. In classes, I am conscious to not reproduce a male-dominated, Anglo-centric history. Consequently, I choose themes, units, scholars, and readings that reflect a diversity of identities, thereby challenging received norms. I create demographically diverse learning communities through which students collaborate on historical problems, defend and argue with the philosophies of historical actors, review each other’s work, and role-play. These enable students to interact with peers they might not otherwise associate with, transforming impersonal courses into interactive and inclusive ones. I am also proactive in addressing the skills-deficits with which many students enter college. In order to address writing skills, I worked with the UVU Writing Center to develop the first cohort of Writing Fellows. These are upper division students with subject-area expertise and advanced writing skills. Consequently, multiple Fellows embedded in my classes each term, and scores on research and writing assignments increased appreciably. Finally, to address a spectrum of issues beyond the classroom that include food insecurity, mental illness, physical disability, gender and identity bias, racism, and the fact of being a first-generation college student, I maintain awareness of campus resources so that I can direct students to services that meet their needs.  

An effective education in history should teach and reinforce how to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate various texts, progressing to the point where students can investigate the past with confidence and methodological rigor. It should also support inclusivity and access. These goals animate my approach to university teaching.