teaching_evals.txt

"In my time at Cal, I find what dictates the strength of a GSI is his or her ability to take the random thoughts of students and meet them where they're at. Bad GSIs have a preconceived framework of the material in their heads and seem to be limited by this reconception. Christian seems to be just as capable as some of the best professors I've had at Cal to meet students where they are, which I think is requisite to being able to maximize the facilitation of new learning."

"Christian was great! I didn't have a ton of academic background in racial politics before taking the class, and I was still learning a lot of the language and how to talk about issues as the class went on. Even though I wasn't as experienced as some of my classmates, I never felt too afraid of being cold–called, which usually I hate, because I knew that even if I said something that I wasn't phrasing right or wasn't fully fleshed out yet, Christian would be able to help reframe it in a way that was really really helpful and constructive. Christian was clearly highly interested in what we had to say and let us largely steer the class after he set us up with a topic to talk about, which was a welcome alternative to highly–scripted sections, and I felt like made for a more fruitful learning environment. He's a great GSI!"

Christian was very encouraging when it came to participation, and in a very positive way. He didn't make people feel like they were wrong or less intelligent when they said something confusing or if they themselves were obviously insecure about speaking up; rather, he would be very considerate and try to rephrase what they said to confirm that he understand the point they'd been trying to make. Also, Christian is very well spoken and presents himself very professionally.

The class was very open in terms of discussion of both the readings, their historical background, and how they still play a role in American society and specifically Black communities today (especially thinking of the excellent discussion on Booker T. Washington and his impact 100+ years later on the community the instructor grew up in). We were all afforded an opportunity to take a class unlike anything Berkeley has yet offered, and our GSI more than lived up to the task of getting us to interact with the course materials and understand them; student participation was always high, always lively, and (from what I could tell) always respectful. I never dreaded going to discussion section like I have in past classes, including ones where potential conflict was less likely (because, after all, this class also had the potential to erupt as political theory is always touchy, and looking at marginalized thinkers can bring ugliness and disrespect to the table). Christian did an excellent job in guiding and leading discussion, and was always open to questions and critique. Also, never would have guessed this was his first time teaching, so he'll probably be scary–good in a couple years (which he kind of already is!)

Christian is awesome! He really made me think about my arguments and asked questions that made me rethink what I thought previously. All of the material he went over in section really added to the lectures instead of just regurgitating them. He also gave really good advice for papers that I appreciated. You could really tell he put effort into the course and was there for the students. I appreciated having him teach our section in an engaging, informative, and valuable way.

Christian was incredibly thoughtful about our ability to participate given the circumstances (both COVID and elections season); he ensured we were able to engage in meaningful conversations of the material and encouraged participation proactively. Christan was also extremely flexible and adaptive to the needs of individual students and would go out of his way to be supportive. Christian was also open to facilitating discussion based on our interests and questions which was helpful in allowing us to explore the course more openly and comfortably.