Teaching medieval and early modern literature not only gives students a clearer view of the past but also deepens their understanding of the present. My courses foreground close reading and writing as tools that students can bring to literature but also outside the classroom to their future careers and lives. I have won several teaching awards, designed and taught English literature and composition courses at Ashoka University (2018–present) and at UCLA (2014-2018). I also have extensive experience teaching English as a Second Language and working as a writing center consultant.
TEACHING AWARDS
In the 2016-2017 academic year, I was awarded a Collegium of University Teaching Fellow (CUTF) and taught a course based on my dissertation research entitled “Women Writing Utopia, Past and Present.” I was honored to receive UCLA’s English Department’s quarterly teaching award for this course.
ENGLISH LITERATURE COURSES DESIGNED AND TAUGHT
- Global Medieval Travel Writing (Ashoka)
- ASP Proseminar (a course that prepares students for thesis writing) (Ashoka)
- Medieval Mysticism (Ashoka)
- Futures Perfect: a Literary History of Utopia (Ashoka)
- Global Medievalisms (Ashoka)
- Medieval Women’s Writing (Ashoka)
- Forms of Literature (Ashoka)
- Early British Literature (Ashoka)
- Women’s Utopian Writing, Past and Present, Spring 2017 (UCLA) The website for this course may be viewed at: https://womenwritingutopia.wordpress.com
- Critical Reading and Writing Service Learning: Urban Social Justice (UCLA)
- Critical Reading and Writing: Friends and Enemies in Literature (UCLA)
*Please write to me at alexandra.verini@ashoka.edu for syllabi for any of these courses.
ENGLISH COMPOSITION COURSES
- English Composition, Rhetoric, and Language 3, Fall 2017 (UCLA)
- English Composition, Rhetoric, and Language 2, Academic Advancement Program, Summer 2017 (UCLA) Final projects for this class are available on soundcloud
ESL TEACHING EXPERIENCE
I obtained a TESL certification in 2008 and have been a lead ESL instructor in a wide range of programs, including:
-Kaplan Aspect
-Community Impact at Columbia University
-The Brooklyn Family Justice Center
-Columbia University’s American Language Program
WRITING CENTER EXPERIENCE
I have been a tutor at the UCLA Graduate Writing Center for five years and have lead writing workshops on a wide range of topics including:
-ESL Academic Email Etiquette
-ESL Academic Writing
-ESL Strategies for Self-Editing
-Strategic Reading
-Writing for Non-Academic Audiences
