Thank you very much for presenting me with this award. As we all know, the pressures of publishing, as well as our own love for seeing ourselves in print talking about issues dear to us, often makes teaching a secondary interest, perhaps something like a "day job" for musicians. But of course that is not how it should be. For teaching is what we do and why we are at universities--even if we sometimes lose track of it between our writings and the innumerable meetings we attend.  So, to put a theoretical structure to our teaching to asked or even expected --unless you are working on "pedagogy"! But for me, I have thought aboutthe relationship of teaching to my research in African, African American and Caribbean literature, diaspora and ethnic studies as well as my understanding of contemporary cultural theory. So here goes: Walter Benjamin, the literary critic and philosopher, once noted once that he read literature in the way that the Hebraic scholars read the Talmud--reading forty-eight different meanings into each word. This philosophical approach to reading is joined with my own experiences with memorable teachers to formulate my overall teaching philosophy and methodology.

 My methodology has been one that, through my use of Socratic questioning, engages students in the rich intellectual and aesthetic nature of literary studies.  Together, we examine the works through problem-posing questions, exploring conventional thematic and stylistic development of authors and literary movements, as well as placing these  works within a sociohistoric context.  This interdisciplinary approach aids students in understanding the environment in which the work was produced, especially when the work was informed by a culture different from the student's.  Individually and in group work, the students analyze important issues in the literature; as they work in groups, they also learn to be engaged intellectually, as well as to debate and move toward consensus.  In addition, the students' writing assignments are focused to help them formulate and expand their own notions of the literature while honing in on their writing and communication skills. As they develop their critical papers, I teach them to ask the same kind of questions of the works that I pose to them in the context of the classroom.   While  developing important tools in reading, writing, and articulating their positions, the students learn to think critically, to enjoy and appreciate the literature, and to relate what they study to the world around us. . . .   My philosophy of teaching, as well as the methodologies I use, have been formed by our increasing participation in a global community.   In all my courses, students of different ethnic backgrounds can explore the implications of the literature while appreciating the powerful quality of the creative works themselves.  Since the nature of literature is to enrich our lives, courses that involve all the diverse aspects of a particular literary period will certainly help mold citizens who will not only continue to read and love literature for itself, but will enter the world as socially conscious and more understanding human beings. . . .