Nominated with "enthusiasm and conviction" by Beshara Doumani, the Mahmoud Darwish professor of Palestinian Studies, doctoral candidate in history, Kate Elizabeth Creasey distinguished herself while serving as a teaching assistant for four courses in the Department of History: Humanitarianism and Conflict in Africa, Refugees: A Twentieth-Century History, Bankrupt: An Economic and Financial History of the Middle East in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, and Understanding the Palestinians.
Over the course of the semester, Creasey transformed her role from a teaching assistant and mentee into one of a colleague and partner, Doumani explains. He particularly commends her approach to politically and emotionally charged subject matter, noting she tackled these challenges “with extensive preparation, advanced communication skills, and well-timed interventions. She also faced it with courage, fortitude, patience, and empathy; all of which greatly endeared her to the students both semesters.”
Creating Inclusive Learning Spaces
Student feedback from the Understanding the Palestinians course is exceptional. Her reviewers share that she did a “fantastic job in creating a supportive and inclusive classroom environment by encouraging all students to participate” and effusively remark on her kindness and generosity with her time both inside and outside the classroom.
Pandemic Pivot
Creasey notes that she particularly enjoyed her experience as a teaching assistant for Refugees: A Twentieth-Century History, a course examining displacement and migration. When the pandemic struck in March 2020, she collaborated closely with the professor and a fellow graduate student to rapidly transition the curriculum to an online format.
“We were able to lean into what our students were experiencing having to leave campus so quickly and create a learning environment that allowed them to think about what they were experiencing in a larger historical context of displacement that was really powerful,” Creasey shares. “In retrospect, it was also amazing how all of us had to learn together how to navigate the new world of Zoom and online learning.”
Amplifying Student Voices
Jennifer Johnson, associate professor of history, also commends Creasey for her classroom presence. "I was impressed by how well she integrated and built on previous comments, amplifying student contributions, and how effortlessly she integrated points from lectures and our weekly meeting," Johnson says. She summarizes her experience working with the award recipient as thoroughly enjoyable, describing Creasey as “a reliable, thoughtful, and considerate Teaching Assistant.”
Beyond her teaching responsibilities, Creasey is advancing her dissertation titled, The Unspeakable Years: Militarism, Neoliberalism, and Left Resistance in Late Cold War Turkey. Her research examines anti-left counterinsurgency and neoliberalism's emergence following Turkey's 1980 coup d'état. With particular focus on social democratic and leftist movements of the 1970s, she investigates how activists preserved alternative visions for the future despite facing severe state repression. Her work connects Turkey's experience to broader historical currents in the Middle East and the Global South during the late Cold War.
Upon learning of the award, Creasey expressed both gratitude and renewed confidence, “It is a huge honor to have the teaching I have done during my time at Brown recognized in this way. It makes me feel much more confident about my teaching abilities.”
Kate Elizabeth Creasey, Samantha Borys, Kinan Dak Albab, and Caroline Cunfer receive Excellence in Teaching Awards at the University Awards Ceremony on April 30, 2025.