Teaching Testimonials

Feedback regarding teaching effectiveness, style, and long-term impact:

"Thanks again for the fascinating session today!  It was really perfect - an object lesson in all sorts of things we'd been discussing in the abstract, plus all sorts of twists we had not thought of or known about.  I'm also very delighted to know you, and to know of your proximity!  I hope to incorporate such visits lots more in the future" (faculty email, 2019).

"I saw this article as well as others published over the last few years about the students you inspire and train. https://news.stanford.edu/2018/08/29/inscriptions-found-ancient-egyptian-artifact-damaged-1906-earthquake/. I just wanted you to know that I really admire what you are doing for Stanford and especially its students" (staff email, 2018).

"Congratulations, Christina!  Both [coterm student 1] and [coterm student 2] loved your class, as did [undergradaute 3], who regarded it as one of the high points of her undergraduate career (in art history and architectural design)... You should be proud of them - and of your brilliance as a teacher!" (faculty email, 2018).

"Take it from someone that hungers for the dialectic...you are absolutely made for opening up minds to possibilities" (student email, 2018).

"Taking your class this summer was simply life changing, and I think I've developed a small obsession with bricks!" (student email, 2018).

"I’m one of many who have been displayed and exhibited as a people and a culture... So the critical nature of this course [Museum Cultures: Material Representation in the Past and Present] has been really great. We’ve been extremely critical about where the objects come from and aware of the unbalanced power dynamics between people like Jane Stanford and indigenous people... This class made me understand the plight of the curator and of the people who are involved in the museum culture" (student in Stanford News article interview, 2017)

"I just want to say thank you for such a great class. For me, the class was much more than about material associated with Harvard. I feel that the way I now think about all material, spaces, and people is much more connected and certainly deeper. I sure ask a lot more questions about everything; mostly about attributes and relationships. I respect your deep knowledge, was captured by your passion for the subject, and appreciate your disciplined approach to managing the course and us" (student email, 2017).

"By every measure this was an outstanding course - carefully organized, comprehensive, and fascinating - even to those like us who had already been to many of the museums addressed! Ms. Hodge also used the effective technique of returning briefly at each session to relive the previous ones - ensuring that all the points and issues were captured. This was all the more remarkable since we understand this is the first time she has taught the course. At the last session we regretted that it had come to an end - and hope that it will be offered by Stanford in the future" (student course evaluation, 2017).

"Thank you for letting me attend your Material History class. I am recently summoned back to rural China, and won't be able to take your class this year; but this single lesson is the best one of its kind I had in many years and I am very grateful for the opportunity to experience it" (student email, 2015).

"This past summer was the best summer that I had ever had. It has opened me up to so many new things in terms of where my life should take me and it is all thanks to you... It is so thought provoking how a career [like anthropology] can interpret human lifestyle and the human mind so well" (student email, 2014).

"This class has been great!  I love that you gave it a theme, because I knew nothing about the World's Fairs and really enjoyed learning so much about one. I also appreciated your supportive and incremental approach to the papers each week, and your detailed tips and advice. It was an enjoyable learning experience" (student email, 2014).

"I just wanted to write a note to tell you how much I enjoyed your course this summer. I am using some of the theories we learned in class to approach both my research and my art in new ways" (student email, 2013).

"I have spent the remains of summer considering your bonus question on the final exam regarding the Harvard Indian College, and the prospect of a future memorial/initiative... it certainly inspired/motivated me, as did the entire course...  I really valued your course, and the independent work for this proposal is a reflection of that" (student email, 2013).

"At a careers event, I was talking with a presenter and he said I seemed really intelligent and creative--I explained that it was this class [on icons and symbolism] I was taking and how your class is really changing the way I think. I see connections everywhere!" (student conversation, 2013).

"Your course [on research and writing in museum studies] was challenging but gave us an important foundation. Now I have continued in the program, I use the skills we learned all the time and I wouldn't be successful without them" (student conversation, 2013).

"Good knowledge of the material. Excellent preparation. Painstaking attention to details. A very intense, dedicated and thorough professional" (student course evaluation, 2013).

"This is the best course I've taken at Harvard!!! It is a must do... Brilliant and engaging instructor. A ceramics expert" (student course evaluation, 2011).

"Christina was a fantastic teacher. She was very involved in all work that went on in class... Her lectures and provided readings were helpful in researching for the midterm and final, and she welcomed all questions regularly. I really enjoyed working with her" (student course evaluation, 2011).

 

Work by students highlighting teaching effectiveness and long-term impact:

New exhibition highlights Stanford’s connection to Pacific cultures, Stanford News article and video interviews by Alex Shashkevich on a new exhibition at the Stanford Archaeology Center curated and installed by students in Museum Cultures (2017)

The Colorful History of Crimson at HarvardIndex (Harvard Art Museums magazine) article by R. Leopoldina Torres, a student inspired by Hodge's Summer School course Icons: A Material History of Harvard (2013)

Gaining Research Experience in the Faculty Aide ProgramHarvard Extension School Blog interview with Lisa Griffith (candidate, Master of Liberal Arts in Archaeology/Anthropology) about her experience as Hodge's Research Assistant in the Harvard Extension School Faculty Aid Program (2013)