Brent E. Metz

Classroom Teaching
Since earning my PhD in 1995, I have designed and taught 27 different courses at 5 institutions, including 2 online courses. In my anthropology position at KU, I have taught Indigenous Traditions of Latin America, Mexamerica, Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Masculinity in Cross-cultural Perspective, Contemporary Central America & Mexico, The Teaching of Anthropology, Indigenous Development in Latin America, Varieties of Human Experience, Succeeding in Anthropology, Doing Ethnography, Methods in Cultural Anthropology, and 5 service-learning study abroad courses to Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and the Huasteca (Mexico).  Most have been joint undergraduate/graduate courses.

A principal tenet of my teaching philosophy is that students should learn how to connect the dots between a course's subject matter and their everyday decisions; otherwise, they will not only forget the material as soon as they walk out the door but they will be uninformed citizens. I remind them that courses with global content are offered here because the U.S. is a global power and is globally accountable, such that US citizens, especially the college educated, have a responsibility to understand others on the planet.  I constantly test students' abilities to interpret current events and challenge erroneous media representations. I announce campus and community events and feel it my duty to attend as many as time allows. For Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, I offered students an extra credit point for every Global Awareness Program (GAP) "extracurricular activity" point earned, which put them in the habit of seeing campus events as opportunities.

My classes generally have a question-and-answer format covering the main points of the readings and videos and how they relate to the students' lives. I periodically experiment with new techniques to enhance engagement, such as in-class debates, fishbowls, Perusall, and pop quizzes. If enrollment is moderate to small, I grade on daily participation rather than mere attendance.  Exams and take-home papers are designed to test students' ability to explain and apply concepts, not simply memorize them.  For term papers, I scaffold the stages so as to better oversee that students are doing independent work.  Graduate courses are run in a seminar fashion, and I require graduate students to lead class at least one in the semester.

I regularly use COIL, service learning, and off-campus research in my courses, and partners have including the Lawrence Hispanic Center,  the Ch'orti' Pluriversity, the Academy of Maya Languages - Ch'orti' Branch, the Intercultural University of San Luis Potosí (Mexico), and 

All professors have room for pedagogical improvement if they have the time to invest.  I strive for constant improvement, paying close attention to evaluations and my TA's advice, taking heed that I need to aim my lectures more towards the general student population rather than the upper echelon. I have much to learn from some of my award-winning colleagues.  I have been a KU Center for Service Learning Ambassador since 2008 and participate in KU Center for Teaching Excellence activities regularly, such as the annual Teaching Summit.  

Regarding advising, I was Undergraduate Coordinator in Anthropology for 5 years and served on the Undergraduate Committee in Anthropology for 9 years.  I also served on the Latin American & Caribbean Studies Undergraduate Committee for 6 years, directing for 3.  In Anthropology, I led efforts to institutionalize a capstone and 1-credit online career course for the major, among other initiatives.  My effort has been especially focused on getting students to think of their larger careers and personal enrichment rather than just the minimum to complete the major or minor. As the Anthropology student club advisor in 3 different years, I organized a Career Night for majors and prospective majors.  I regularly urge students to pursue study abroad, internships, and perform service learning. I have also regularly participated in Honors Program recruitment functions.

Graduate students sometimes feel underserved and disrespected, and I make it a point to treat them as incipient professionals and convey the importance of their potential contributions to anthropology and society in general. As with the undergrads, I expect the most out of them. I remind them constantly that graduate school is their opportunity to build a foundation for their careers and become experts in their specialties. In other words, taking the route of least resistance will not serve them in a tough job market. I have also done my best to give them practical experience, and with university grant or assistantship funds I have employed 5 graduate students and 2 undergraduates with grants for my research projects.