Cody J. Billock

Teaching Philosophy

My approach to teaching history has been heavily influenced by the New Cold War history school, characterized by archival research in former socialist bloc countries. In this spirit, my courses emphasize the global dimension of modern world history by incorporating international perspectives, including those from socialist bloc states and the Global South. When lecturing about the Vietnam War, for example, I usually assign material that can help students empathize with the perspectives of both North and South Vietnamese government officials and civilians, communist and anticommunist, and Buddhist and Catholic. I enjoy having my students grapple with diverse intellectual perspectives to cultivate historical empathy and critical thinking.

My courses also focus on the fundamentals of history: reading, writing, and oral argumentation. These skills have been, and will remain, the basic building blocks of the historical discipline in the past, present, and future. Over the past decade, especially in the post-COVID era, there has been a nationwide decline in students’ reading comprehension skills. The New York Times reports that U.S. test scores are now in a “generation-long decline.” These declining test scores have cut across the socio-economic spectrum, affecting schools in both marginalized and wealthy communities alike. This has led to a troubling trend of universities lowering academic standards, with a diminished emphasis on reading and writing. Even in my short teaching career, I have noticed that my students have had increasing trouble with comprehending the class readings. This has led many university professors to limit their assigned readings and rely on oral lectures as the primary means of disseminating information. My classes utilize pop quizzes to emphasize the importance of reading and to create a fixed incentive tied to their grade. The decades-long problem with grade inflation has only created further incentives for professors to lower standards in hopes of achieving higher teaching evaluations. Harvard University has taken the admirable step of overhauling its grading system and capping the number of As professors can give to their students to combat the problem. The widespread popularization of Artificial Intelligence has only exacerbated this academic polycrises, with students abusing AI to write their papers. To combat this trend, I rely on Bluebook examinations and in-class essays. I am committed to reversing this trend by creating a challenging academic environment where students engage with the readings, articulate their thoughts, and defend their ideas in discussions.