The Right to Be Modest 

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By Dr. Glazier’s Religious Freedom Calderwood Seminar Class

This article is a teaching experiment. In spring 2024, I am teaching in a way I never have before. Although the content is familiar–religious freedom–the format is totally new. I am teaching a Calderwood Seminar, an upper level course where students work in a collaborative environment to take turns writing and peer editing public-facing pieces. The Calderwood model was started at Wellesley College and focuses on preparing students to write for real-life situations.

To mark International Women’s Day (March 8, 2024), the students in our class have collaboratively written the following piece about local and global restrictions on women’s clothing choices, restrictions which are often based in religion. I hope you enjoy and learn from their efforts!

Women on beach with one, left, wearing a burkini, a full-body swimsuit designed for Muslim women. (AFP/FETHI BELAID)
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Putting Connection First: What Happened When I Built a New Online Class with Rapport at the Center

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Last fall I got the kind of random surprise that sometimes comes into the lives of professors: my study abroad class to Morocco had been cancelled for obscure reasons related to university bureaucracy. Now, not only would I have to tell a bunch of disappointed students that they wouldn’t get to ride camels after all, but I also had a hole to fill in my schedule.

Before I knew what hit me, I was assigned an online section of a course I had never taught before: American National Government. Determined to do my best, I picked a textbook (the one my seasoned colleague recommended) and got to work preparing a brand-new class.

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Re-Energizing Political Science Education

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I am about to depart for the 2023 Teaching and Learning Conference of the American Political Science Association, which I have the great pleasure of co-chairing with Young-Im Lee of California State University-Sacramento. The theme this year is “Re-Energizing Political Science Education: Innovations and New Opportunities.” As we start to feel like the crisis period of the pandemic is over, many of us are also ready to start feeling re-energized when it comes to teaching and learning! The TLC has a great track format that allows people to really connect with one another and get deep into teaching topics that they care about—from civic education to simulations. I have found this format to be really engaging and energizing in the past.

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“Together Little Rock”: On Student Learning though Community Engagement

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Last night, I got to see my students sit shoulder to shoulder with community leaders, including Little Rock’s Mayor Frank Scott, Jr., on a panel about improving religious tolerance in our city. They organized, participated in, moderated, and advertised the panel after returning from a study abroad course I taught this summer in Spain.

A group photo of students and community members at the Together Little Rock Event.
Our honored community guests in the center: Mayor Frank Scott, Jr., Dr. Sara Tariq, and the Hon. Annabelle Imber Tuck. Flanked by UALR study abroad students.
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