TEACHING
Dr. Nichols is an enthusiastic teacher who understands the classroom as a community where faculty and students come together as collaborators. At the core of her teaching philosophy is the belief that learning is a practice of freedom and that studying history can advance social justice. Dr. Nichols has the wonderful privilege of teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses on a variety of topics in U.S. history, with race, class, and gender at the core of each class she designs.
Current Courses at Texas State University
HIST 1320: US Since 1877
HIST 3359: African American History
HIST 3371A: Conflict and Creativity in US Urban and Suburban History
HIST 4377: US Social Justice and Reform Movements
HIST 4399: Senior Seminar
HIST 5346: African American History (Graduate Program)
Previous Courses
California and the World
Cold War America
Civil Rights Through Film
History of the San Francisco Bay Area
Introduction to Public History
African American History Since Slavery
Race Riots and Rebellions in 20th Century Urban America
Methodologies of History
Resistance, Violence, and the American City
US Since 1968
19th Century America (Teaching Assistant)
Introduction to Feminist Studies (Teaching Assistant)
From Freedom to Freedom Now: African American History, 1865-1965 (Teaching Assistant)
TEACHING HONORS
Course Development Grant, Service-Learning Excellence Program, Texas State University, 2024.
Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Teaching, College of Liberal Arts, Texas State University, 2022.
Presidential Distinction Award for Excellence in Teaching, College of Liberal Arts, Texas State University, 2022.
“As a classroom community, our capacity to generate excitement is deeply affected by our interest in one another, in hearing one another’s voices, in recognizing one another’s presence.”