Sina Nitzsche has taught courses, seminars, and workshops at different universities in Germany, Israel, Poland, Russia, and the United States. Due to this international experience, she has developed her own teaching philosophy which is deeply influenced by leading lights in the critical pedagogy, including Paulo Freire, bell hooks, et al.
Working through methodologies, she incorporates the experiences, memories, and resources students bring to the classroom and encourages them to create their own readings, interpretations, and textual approaches. Since most of her students will become future English teachers, finding their own voices is one of her central objectives.
Sina Nitzsche’s teaching strategies often reach outside the classroom setting because she believes it is extremely important to break through the so-called ivory tower and translate academic debates to a wider public. Students who attended the seminar Mapping Hip-Hop: The Ruhr, for instance, compiled a webblog on hip-hop in the metropolitan region in which they published the results of their interviews, site visits, and field research.
Teaching a variety of seminars that range from literature and culture to music and media, it is Sina Nitzsche’s firm belief that instructors should allow students freedom to pursue their ideas while supporting them in the process. In this way, students become even more passionate and enthusiastic about learning. Judging from her personal experience as a student and instructor, she knows that students profit from this enthusiasm, passion, and motivation and pass it on to the next generation.
Sina Nitzsche 