Anthony Nguyen is a PhD candidate in philosophy at the University of Southern California. His primary research interests are within political philosophy, philosophy of language, and metaphysics. His dissertation, titled “Colonialism and Self-Respect,” investigates colonialism through the lens of what some political philosophers call “the social bases of self-respect.” He argues that colonialism is necessarily unjust because it treats colonized individuals as political inferiors, which unfairly deprives them of their social bases of self-respect. His dissertation also investigates this claim’s implications for philosophical theories of distributive justice, political self-determination, and just war theory. Anthony, however, values teaching at least as much as he values academic research. He implements empirically supported pedagogical practices in order to improve student learning and promote an inclusive classroom. His primary pedagogical value is regular, structured active learning. Frequent in-class activities and assignments done outside of the classroom jointly provide students ample opportunities to practice the skills necessary to achieve a course’s learning objectives. Relatedly, this emphasis on regular active learning provides students many opportunities to receive constructive feedback from not only their teacher, but also from their peers. In Anthony’s experience, these practices promote student confidence as well as a welcoming classroom environment.

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