Caroline Cunfer, a doctoral candidate in American Studies, has gained recognition for her groundbreaking course, Rethinking Sex: Critical Approaches to Compulsory Sexuality, which she has designed and taught over the past two years.
Her innovative course examines nonsexual forms of being in relation, using the framework of compulsory sexuality to challenge assumptions about intimacy and desire as they are shaped by race, gender, disability, medicine, and religion.
Creating a Transformative Learning Environment
"Students rave about her teaching," notes associate professor of American Studies Debbie Weinstein, who nominated Cunfer for recognition.
Cunfer has built a classroom environment that encourages dialogue, critical thinking, and collaborative learning. Reflecting on her experience, she notes, “being in a vivacious intellectual community with my students has been an unbelievable joy; they are sharp, curious, and enthusiastic about the kinds of questions that animate my own research.”
Her impact is perhaps best captured in a student evaluation that praised her pedagogical approach, “Caroline is what I believe all Brown professors should strive for in the classroom. She engages students in deep, complicated topics by allowing them to steer the conversation on their own terms while maintaining control of the classroom. She allows students' creativity to flow and inspires them with her own personal work.”
Commitment to Student Development
Beyond her signature course, Cunfer has also served as a teaching assistant for Essaying Culture, Health and Healing in American History, Introduction to Ethnic Studies, and American Advertising: History and Consequences. As both a teaching assistant and lead instructor, Cunfer is deeply committed to her students, encourages lively classroom discussions, and provides insightful feedback on student writing.
Ralph Rodriguez, professor of American Studies and English, echoes this sentiment, “she shines in the classroom, leading and aiding our students to become the best possible young intellectuals they can be.”
Research Informing Teaching Practice
Cunfer’s own research aligns closely with her teaching. Her dissertation develops what she calls an “asexual or non-sexual optic” to explore cultural scripts that render sex an essential object, right, and duty. By analyzing four sites in which sex is made compulsory, , she challenges notions of capacity and the category of the human through the lens of biopolitical regimes of sexuality and desire.
Reflections on Teaching and Recognition
Upon receiving recognition for her teaching, Cunfer offered a thoughtful reflection on her journey as an educator, “learning how to be on the other side of the classroom in the role of instructor has been at once the most terrifying and exhilarating part of pursuing my Ph.D. Having been on the receiving end of so much wonderful teaching and mentorship over the past decade or so, I intimately know how transformative classrooms can be, and so I am especially honored to have my efforts as an instructor recognized in this way.”
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.