Teaching & Mentorship

As an interdisciplinary scholar of Archaeology, African Studies, and Black Studies, I am committed to a pedagogy that encourages students to critically reflect, engage, and problematize histories that marginalize minority voices.

Like James C. Scott in Against the Grain, I teach my students to analyze the dominant narratives of a text and engage in alternative reading and writing, which draws attention to the gaps and silences in the multiple spaces of knowledge production. I believe that intellectual inquiry should be an experiential learning process where students are active participants in the teaching and learning process.

I design my classroom as a space for critical thinking, experimenting with learning, writing, and debating ideas respectfully but firmly. This way of learning is not simply an intellectual exercise, but a personal goal to provide accessible opportunities that empower students to be active co-creators of knowledge.

Teaching Experience

ANTH X: Community Archaeology & Public Engagement (created) – SPRING 2023 – 4
ANTH 1565: Archaeology of Foodways (created) – FALL 2023 – 4
ANTH 1540: Africa & the World (created) – SPRING 2022 – 3
ANTHRO 214: Archaeology – Unearthing Histories – FALL 2018, 2019
ANTHRO 213: Biological Anthropology – Human Origins – WINTER 2019
ANTHRO 215: Linguistic Anthropology – Culture through Language – WINTER 2018
ANTHRO 255: African Studies – Contemporary African Worlds – FALL 2017

Invited Talks And Guest Lecture

Fear of the #Woke University: A politics of exclusion. Invited speaker, Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh-Pennsylvania. April 11, 2023.
It Tastes Like Home: Local Tastes and Consumer Practices in Southeastern Ghana. Invited speaker, Center of Comparative Archaeology’s Research Fair, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh-Pennsylvania. April 14, 2023.
Introduction to Paleoethnobotany, Guest Lecture, Department of Anthropology, University of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh-Pennsylvania. February 27, 2023.
African Civilization, Kaplan Humanities Program, Northwestern University. Evanston-Illinois. February 25, 2019
Thinking Like an Archaeologist. The Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies, Northwestern University, Evanston-Illinois. February 28, 2019.
Interdisciplinary Gallery Talk. Caravans of Gold, Fragments in Time: Art, Culture, and Exchange across Medieval Saharan Africa. Exhibit at the Block Museum, Northwestern University, Evanston-Illinois. March 6, 2019.
The Archaeology of Trade in Africa, Anthropology Department Freshman Seminar Series, Northwestern University, Evanston-Illinois. May 9, 2019.

Courses Created and Taught

Community Archaeology & Public Engagement: This course explores the goals of archaeology and introduces students to the various stakeholders, partners, and networks in the field. We’ll discuss criticisms of how archaeologists interact with communities and the need for diverse perspectives that challenge traditional notions of archaeology and community engagements. We’ll also consider the responsibilities that archaeologists have to communities and the future of sustainable community archaeologies. This course is also a writing-intensive class with assignments, revisions, and presentations designed to help you practice and refine your writing muscle.

Archaeology of Foodways: This course is an interdisciplinary seminar about the diverse histories and cultures of Africa and the Atlantic diaspora. The course is organized around thematic and methodological approaches in the historical archaeology of Africa and the African diaspora. We will examine the economic, political, and ideological factors that facilitated the Atlantic Slave Trade, the “legitimate trade,” and the emergence of unequal global economies while highlighting the struggles and resilience of enslaved Africans and their descendants.

Finally, we will discuss how the histories of the slave trade, race, and gender shape the lived experiences of Africans and people of African descent and develop critical historical perspectives on African politics, gender, race, identity, culture, and science. This course is open to students interested in African archaeology, African and African diaspora studies, slavery, and race. Lectures will be supplemented with documentaries and other multimedia sources.

Africa and the World: This is an interdisciplinary seminar about the diverse histories and cultures of Africa and the Atlantic diaspora. The course is organized around thematic and methodological approaches in the historical archaeology of Africa and the African diaspora. We will examine the economic, political, and ideological underpinnings of the Atlantic Slave Trade, the “legitimate trade,” and the emergence of unequal global economies while highlighting the struggles and resilience of enslaved Africans and their descendants.

Finally, the class will pay attention to how the histories of the slave trade, race, and gender shape the lived experiences of Africans and people of African descent and develop critical historical perspectives on African politics, gender, race, identity, culture, and science. This course is open to students interested in African archaeology, African and African diaspora studies, slavery, and race. Lectures may be supplemented with documentaries and other multimedia sources.

Selected Teaching Evaluations

My TA was awesome, and that made a lot of the class more interesting. If you really want to learn more about archaeology, or want to have any sort of hands-on, interactive experience with archaeology, I would absolutely recommend this class, because they did a bunch of that stuff in the TA discussion sections.

Student Evaluation

Dela was great, this was one of my favorite sections I’ve taken here so far.

Student Evaluation

Dela was very knowledgeable and passionate about her work. The lectures and exams were also helpful to my education, and I think it’s definitely a class people should take if they have an interest in archaeology.

Student Evaluation

Dela was great as a TA. She was very helpful and responsive and was able to encourage participation in sections.

Student Evaluation

I really liked Dela! I wish we could have learned more about her field of study. The hands-on stuff was a good supplement to the class.

Student Evaluation

Dela was a helpful and enthusiastic TA who developed strong relationships with the students in her discussion section. She was an advocate for these students as well as dependable and helpful from the perspective of the instructor. Her enthusiasm and attention to detail were greatly appreciated. Overall, she was a great asset in the classroom.

Student Evaluation

Dela was a well-prepared, organized and knowledgeable teaching assistant. It was a pleasure working with her on the course. From day one, she took initiative in helping to coordinate the course to ensure it ran smoothly.

She attended a tutorial for Canvas and helped to set up the course site with my guidance, suggested modifications for the course assignments, and developed protocols to strengthen student participation in discussion sections. Among the many things she did to facilitate the course’s coordination, Dela established formal, written guidelines for student contributions in class and in written assignments, and again, at my suggestion, developed a frequently asked questions (FAQ) section on canvas for students’ reference.

We collaborated to develop rubrics for grading students’ assignments, to strengthen instructions for students’ written assignments, and streamline course grading. Although I did not have an opportunity to monitor her discussion sections, I could tell during in-class discussions and individual meetings with students that they benefited from her helpful suggestions for how to read, write and discuss the difficult texts and films they were assigned for the class.

During one class period, I came into find that Dela had cued up a particularly relevant and moving video about sexual harassment on public transportation in Kenya, which brilliantly tied in with unfolding story of sexual harassment within media and industry and our reading about matatus in Kenya.

Overall, Dela took on a great deal of responsibility and handled her position with poise — especially impressive, given that this was her first time performing in the role.

Student Evaluation