Graduate Teaching Fellow – University Writing: Readings in Human Rights

I served as a Graduate Teaching Fellow for University Writing: Readings in Human Rights at Columbia University, a required undergraduate course within the Core Curriculum. In this role, I taught, assessed, and graded students’ academic writing while guiding them through a full semester of sustained critical reading and essay-based argumentation.

The course introduced students to writing as an intellectual practice rather than a fixed talent. Through structured assignments, peer review, and revision, students learned to use writing as a method of inquiry, reflection, and participation in academic conversations.

Thematically, the course examined human rights as both a legal framework and a lived, contested practice. Students engaged with texts by lawyers, philosophers, historians, anthropologists, and writers to explore questions of justice, power, representation, and moral responsibility in global and local contexts.

Teaching Responsibilities

• Designed and taught weekly seminars
• Led close-reading discussions and writing workshops
• Assigned and evaluated multiple stages of student writing, including drafts, proposals, and final essays
• Provided written and oral feedback on student work
• Held individual conferences and office hours
• Graded essays according to departmental and university standards

Course Structure

Students completed four major writing projects:

• A Critical Response Essay
• A Conversation Essay situating arguments within existing debates
• A Research Essay integrating scholarly sources
• An Editorial / Op-Ed Essay adapted for public audiences

Throughout the semester, I emphasized revision as a central component of learning and trained students to work with feedback, citation practices, and academic integrity standards.

Teaching this course required balancing rigorous academic expectations with sensitivity to the subject matter, as discussions often addressed violence, inequality, and rights violations. I developed classroom practices attentive to linguistic diversity, ethical engagement, and respectful debate.

This experience strengthened my capacity to teach formally within a university setting, design and deliver syllabus-driven courses, and evaluate student writing with clarity, consistency, and intellectual seriousness.

For more information on the University Writing program, see:
https://www.college.columbia.edu/core-curriculum/classes/university-writing