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Social Justice Education
Creating innovative learning experiences rooted in Black/African-centered social justice traditions and practical knowledge
I am currently an assistant research professor of sociology at Johns Hopkins University and, in the summer months, I direct Humanity in Action's John Lewis Fellowship Program in Human Rights and Democracy. I live my life committed, on one hand, to relevant academic teaching that advances social justice goals, and on the other hand, to public-facing pedagogy that enhances citizens’ capacities to analyze and transform the systems of inequality that affect their lives.
"Thank you for designing a fellowship experience that has kept me critically analyzing the morality in my endeavors and my obligation to uplift those around me."
Ishan Sharma
Herman Scoville Jr. Peace Fellow and John Lewis Fellow
"In considering my own intersecting social identities, biases, and tendencies [in your class], I was able to gain a clearer view of the research problem—its gravity, a deeper meaning outside the bounds of our localized case study—and a fuller understanding of my approach to it."
Armen Agopian
Johns Hopkins University Class of 2020
"I was challenged in so many critical ways. I do not think everyone agreed with every speaker and every activity, but I was impressed by the willingness of the program to challenge and push our thinking...Any work I do in the future will be better, deeper, more engaged, more honest and thus more impactful because of this."
Leilani Douglas
University of Chicago Class of 2017 and John Lewis Fellow
"I know that I would not have been able to learn as much as I did this semester if the course was conducted as a traditional lecture-based course. This hands-on interaction was not only vital to learning about qualitative research and fieldwork, but to learning about Baltimore and my community through a new lens."
Caylie Tuerack
Johns Hopkins Class of 2022
"When Professor Amen would have us step outside our bodies and look at ourselves more critically and how we might affect those around us, it was so empowering, powerful, and necessary...It made me more empathetic and more understanding. I am so grateful that this course introduced me to a new way of thought and way of analyzing life.