Congratulations to Dr. Ryan James on being awarded the LA&PS Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching!

Contract faculty member of the Department of Anthropology and the Department of Social Sciences Prof James has been recognized in the Contract/Adjunct/CLA category in the Department of Social Sciences. James is an anthropologist and a course director in the Urban Studies Program. His goal as an educator is to provide space for students to empower themselves by thinking critically, and by developing the research, communications, and analytical skills it will take to understand social problems and challenge social inequity in the 2020s and beyond. His current teaching is focused on urban social movements, cities in popular culture, and climate change adaption and mitigation. When classes moved online in 2020, James reconceptualized the lecture component of his courses as a series of YouTube videos. To boost interest and engagement, he added music, visuals and other effects to the videos, and made them available to the public. “My goal is to make the video lectures look like something people would watch on YouTube because they want to,” James said. “Through my own prior experiences as a first-generation university student, I’ve seen how relatable and accessible content can inspire and motivate students facing barriers.”