Joseph Masco wins 2017 Graduate Teaching Award

Joseph Masco, Professor in Anthropology and the College
By Andrew Bauld, Ryan Goodwin, Mark Peters, and Matt Wood | UChicago News

A scholar of many interests, Joseph Masco’s courses deal with subjects ranging from the global environment to science and technology to mass media and national security.

But one of Masco’s greatest joys is watching his graduate students grow through research and begin to approach their topics in new ways. “There are these moments in the collaborations with students,” Masco said, “where you’re moving away from training and toward thinking together about something that’s shaping the current world in a serious manner.” 

From master’s students who are refining their skill sets to doctoral students who are spending years on original work, the end goal is “that they’re original thinkers,” said Masco, “and that they’re able to move across very different discursive worlds, and communicate the insights of their research.” 

Masco also enjoys learning via the independent research of his students, who work in many regions of the world and tackle projects he would enjoy investigating on his own, if he had the time.

“Each doctoral student in anthropology has unique experiences in the field and builds a one-of-a-kind ethnographic archive. I learn a lot about contemporary conditions from these encounters,” he said, “and that is really the secret and great pleasure of the whole operation.”

To learn more about the award and the other 2017 recipients, visit the UChicago News story.