RICHARD FADOK

As an anthropologist who studies architecture, design is not simply an object of critique for me; it is also an educational tool, a means for transforming unjust worlds. Across my introductory and advanced courses, I employ design pedagogies in order to draw out anthropology’s poetic capacity to imagine and materialize other realities. By coupling cross-cultural comparison and speculative creation, alternative modes of being (more-than) human that are latent within the ethnographic archive can become prototypes of new, and more just, futures (an “anthropology otherwise”). I believe that this hybrid of anthropological and architectural praxis is a method of hope: At a time of political fatalism and ecological nihilism, I combine knowing and making to cultivate an ethos of re-form – that is, a doing way of being. In my article in Teaching and Learning Anthropology, I demonstrate how this pragmatic and experimental approach can instill among students a sense of possibility, and a disposition toward change.

My career as an educator, which spans anthropology and architectural history/theory and received Harvard’s Distinction in Teaching Award, began when I was an neuropharmacology TA in college. In my classroom today, I incorporate strategies from across my multi-disciplinary experiences in laboratories, seminars, and studios, from close readings of text and film and hands-on exercises with material culture to empirical research, multi-modal representation (e.g., sketching and modeling), and collaborative iteration; in my course “Space/Power/Species,” students even curated an exhibition. Through pedagogical workshops and peer observation, I continue to seek new opportunities to develop my skills as instructor. In 2014, I completed MIT’s Kaufman Teaching Certificate series, and in 2022, I received a certificate in course design from the Penn Center for Teaching and Learning. These programs showed me how to scaffold assignments and encourage an inclusive and respectful environment. Beyond my own growth, I am committed to the personal and professional growth of my students, and I am frequently asked to write recommendation letters, offer career advice, and oversee reading lists.

Outside of the classroom, I strive to cultivate pedagogical communities across disciplines – a commitment that was recently dubbed the “Fadok Effect.” I have served as a guest critic in architectural studio and history courses at the Universities of Buffalo and Michigan, and I have organized a working group of scholar-educators at the intersection of animal studies and the design disciplines. We are compiling a repository of course syllabi and a bibliography of keywords, a preview of which will soon be submitted to Places Journal. I have also used my platform at Backchannels to highlight animal studies programs and environmental (in)justice pedagogies.