Teaching is a lifelong vocation. I’m happy to share a written statement on my teaching philosophy, with further details on my approach to facilitation, evaluation, inclusion, and mentorship.
Though my priority is to develop pedagogies in communications and culture, I have also taught diversely in humanities, film, global studies, international development studies, and sociology. Working previously at Wilfrid Laurier University (2012-15), I started teaching at Trent in 2016, first in the capacity of successive Limited Term Appointments (2016-23).
I am a strong advocate of our programs in Media and Cultural Studies and welcome inquiries. I also serve as Graduate Director for the Cultural Studies MA and PhD. If you are a prospective student and would like more information, or would like to discuss possible supervision, please get in touch directly.
Link to the Cultural Studies Graduate Program.
1. UNDERGRADUATE TEACHING
I have taught many courses in the Media Studies and Cultural Studies undergraduate program. These include: Introduction to Media Studies, Media and Society, Introduction to Film 1 and 2, War and Media, Issues in Global Media, Television Studies, Social Media and Power, Contemporary Topics in Media Studies, as well as Internship courses, community-based research projects, and reading courses.
As part of my undergraduate teaching, I have focused on developing opportunities for experiential learning within traditional classroom and seminar environments, particularly at the fourth year level with assignments such as peer assessment, peer-review publishing, event organizing, and technology-enhanced learning.
In 2017 I made an early attempt at experiential learning, when I secured an invitation for advanced undergraduate students to submit research papers to Mediapolis: Journal of Cities and Culture, which appeared in their inaugural Student Voices column. The papers were peer-reviewed and proofread by the journal’s editors, allowing students to gain first-hand experience with academic publishing.
Link to Mediapolis: Journal of Cities and Culture: Student Voices.
From 2019-2024, I offered a workshop course in Computational Arts for MA students and advanced undergraduates. The course explored diverse spatial media experiences with a focus on documentary, narrative and visual culture. Engaging through experimentation with mapping and GIS tools, location-based media, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, students were asked to participate in a major project using the digital imaging resources at the Odette Critical Making Studio; the Maps, Data, and Government Information Centre; and media equipment resources at Traill College.
Computational Arts was a flexible course that allowed students to expand their horizons and develop their own learning objectives, whether it be to develop prior technical skills, or to adopt new ones. Alongside workshop hours, the course offered students a rigorous seminar that provided important theoretical tools and historical quilting points. With support from digital scholarship librarians, students made 3D printed objects, unity games, story maps, VR documentaries, apps, animations, and soundscapes.
The creative and process-oriented aspect of this course helped to advance a core pedagogical aim of mine – to integrate skills training in media technology with equally robust training in critical theory.
Computational Arts in the news.
2. GRADUATE TEACHING & SUPERVISION
In addition to my work in the undergraduate program, I have taken on several roles in the Cultural Studies MA and PhD. I have served as a course instructor, a supervisor of MA and PhD students, a committee member, an examiner, and as director. Graduate teaching and supervision is the most rewarding aspect of my work.
As I have learned from others, so others may learn from me. In the spirit of sharing and collaboration, I make available recent teaching materials to anyone who may be interested.
joshuasynenko.com 