Sara Ailshire

Anthropology/WGSS

She/Her/Hers

“Teaching is instrumental to my work as an anthropologist and feminist. Having the opportunity to teach both in the Department of Anthropology and the Women’s Gender, and Sexuality Studies program at UConn has been an incredible opportunity to learn, has allowed me to connect with students and colleagues across disciplines, and has made me a better scholar, educator, and feminist. My pedagogical goals as a practicing feminist anthropologist educator are to provide students with the opportunity to develop their skills as writers and thinkers, and to demonstrate to students how we can connect the concepts and ideas we will learn and discuss in our classroom to their lives, workplaces, and communities. As a student in the WGSS graduate certificate program, I have had the opportunity to study beyond my home department, to consider a diverse array of theories and modes of study, and to focus an entire semester on learning and developing my own practice as a feminist educator. Teaching in WGSS provides me with innumerable opportunities to build meaningful relationships with faculty and graduate student mentors, as well as with students who make me laugh and make me think.”