Teaching

WRITING 7100: TEACHING WRITING  with Kelly King-O'Brien   (Summer 2026)

This course prepares graduate instructors of Cornell's First-Year Writing Seminars to teach courses that both introduce undergraduates to particular fields of study and help them develop writing skills they will need throughout their undergraduate careers. Seminar discussions and readings on pedagogical theories and practices provide an overview of the teaching of writing within a disciplinary context. Participants develop written assignments to be used in their own First-Year Writing Seminars.

*FWS=First-Year Writing Seminar

As Primary Instructor

FWS*:  ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY MEETS COGNITIVE SCIENCE (Spring 2026) 

In this course, we explore how ancient and contemporary theories of mind illuminate one another on topics such as perception, memory, imagination, and thought. We will examine the views of Plato and Aristotle alongside contemporary debates in philosophy of mind and cognitive science, asking how the mind acquires knowledge, processes sensory information, and represents the world. Readings will include selections from Plato's Theaetetus, Timaeus, and Philebus, as well as Aristotle's De Anima. Through writing assignments, students will develop their ability to analyze complex texts, construct original arguments, respond to objections, and write clearly and persuasively about issues in ancient philosophy and cognitive science.

FWS:  GENDER, FEMINISM, AND TECHNOLOGY (Spring 2025)

How does technology shape ideas about gender? This course looks at the relationship between gender and technology through a feminist lens. We will see how technology is part of social, political, and economic systems that are patriarchally stratified. Topics covered will include: health technology, AI and gender bias, reproductive technologies, and videogames. You will learn that technologies are not just tools; they also create and reproduce meanings, including gender meanings. We will also look at how governments and companies use data to maintain power and inequality, and why is it crucial to understand the data from a feminist perspective. This course will help you understand the impact of modern technologies from a feminist point of view while improving your analytical and writing skills.

FWS:   ANCIENT GREEK COSMOLOGY (Fall 2024)

How did ancient Greek philosophers understand the origins of the universe? This course explores the development of rational cosmology among the Presocratics and Plato, and how their ideas shaped later thinking about the universe. We will consider questions such as: How did the universe come into existence? Did the Greeks believe there was one fundamental element underlying everything? How did they explain change in the universe? In this course, you will discuss and analyze readings in order to develop your writing and critical thinking skills. You will also learn to draft and revise your writing, and to collaborate with peers by giving and receiving written and oral feedback.

As Teaching Assistant

Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy (with Tad Brennan)   Fall 2025

Introduction to Ethics (with Julia Markovits)           Spring 2023

Introduction to Philosophy (with David W. Shoemaker)         Fall 2022

Modern Philosophy (with Justin D. Steinberg)   Spring 2022

Contemporary Moral Issues (with Kate Manne)   Fall 2021

Grader

19th and 20th Century European Thought (with Michelle Kosch)   Fall 2023

Teaching Advisor

Feminism for All Genders First-Year Writing Seminar   Spring 2025

Ethics of Sex and Relationships First-Year Writing Seminar   Spring 2025

Smith College

Italian Language and Culture (with Maria Succi-Hempstead)                      Fall 2019–Spring 2020

end-of-class photo for FWS "Ancient Philosophy meets Cognitive Science", Spring 2026