Teaching

My approach to teaching is student-centered and community-engaged, inspired by popular education models that disrupt the banking concept of education where the teacher is understood to be the expert and students are merely passive receptors (Freire, 2000). My classroom is a space for students to question and challenge domination, and formulate liberating interpretations of their identities, interests, and needs. 

I also train and supervise students interested in doing social science research. I have served as a faculty advisor for students in the Mellon-Mays fellowship, the Summer Undergraduate Research Program, as well as in my own lab.

Students who RA for me learn a variety of research skills, while being introduced to topics in the study of social movements, Latin American/Latino studies, transnationalism, and immigration, with a special focus on Central America.

In 2023, I was recognized with the Wig Award in teaching.

Professor Arely Zimmerman alongside other professors awarded the Wig Award.

From left to right: Professors Oona Eisenstadt, Arely Zimmerman, David Menefee-Libey, Jo Hardin, Konrad Aguilar, Sara Masland. Photo by Carlos Puma

Courses

I currently teach an assortment of courses on a regular and rotating basis. The most recent and consistent are listed below. 

  • Intro to Central American Studies (Politics, history, and culture): CHST 28

  • Latinx Citizenship Migration and Race: CHST 128

  • Latinx Social Movements: CHST 136

  • Immigration Community Partnerships: CHST 132

As a Latine Studies scholar, I am committed to disseminating academic knowledge to non-academic publics through public presentations, workshops, and community-engaged research and teaching. Each of these courses incorporate an element of community engaged learning.

Immigration Community Partnerships

My Immigration Community Partnerships course encourages students to partner with local community organizations across the Inland Empire. Over 5 years, the students in CHST 132 have provided mentorship in school-based, afterschool or community programs, have designed educational and skill-building workshops for immigrant youth, and provided web-based programs to increase organizational capacity.

We are always looking for new partners and projects to partner with.

  • 2019–2021

    From 2019-2021, we partnered with the Inland Empire Immigrant Youth Collective, which provides a range of programs including a leadership academy for undocumented and asylum-seeking high school and college students. In our first partnership with the Undocumented Mentorship Academy, students designed and co-led workshops on college pathways, financial aid, interviewing for internships, amongst many others.

  • 2021

    In 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we partnered with IEIYC to participate in the Undocumented Health Ambassadors program, which was designed to train and develop immigrant leaders as health advocates for undocumented Californians in regions considered “health deserts.” The 10 week program offered leadership and informational sessions on a range of topics, and were designed as interactive and dialogue-based. With the support of the Draper Center, we published a booklet containing information, resources, and testimonials from the UHA graduates.

  • 2022–Present

    The past two years, we have partnered with Uncommon Good, which offers a parent education program that supports Latinx families and students in Pomona. In Spring 2024, we collaborated with Dr. Lupe Bacio and Uncommon Good to host College 101 — a day of workshops and informational sessions on various topics that are relevant for first-generation students and parents.