Joan Sakalas, Ph.D.

part-time instructor, the donald everett axinn division of social sciences

jsakalas@svc.edu
802-442-2908

Education

• Ph.D., Christian Social Ethics, Union Theological Seminary, 1999 
• M.A., Feminist Liberation Theology, Episcopal Divinity School, 1992 
• M.A., Social Studies Education, University of Maine, Orono, 1988 
• B.A., English Literature, University of Connecticut, Storrs, 1966 

Courses taught

• Seminar in Educational Inquiry
• Family Violence
• Women in U.S. History
• Graduate Seminar in Field Work
• Introduction to Sociology 

academic Research/interests

Welfare policy, Images of women over time, Oral History.

areas of expertise

Russian/Soviet History, U.S. History, Social Policy and Issues and Family Violence Issues.

PRESENTATIONS

2008 - Vermont Professionals in Adult Learning Conference, "Communication and Sociology in the Adult Classroom"

Why I teach

As a teacher, I am assured that I will always be challenged and never bored. Every student is different, and it is my task to communicate in a way they can hear. I see being a teacher as a combination of cheerleader, actor and learning oncologist. There's nothing more exciting than the look in a student's eyes when they understand.

Favorite Book

A Place in the Woods by Helen Hoover

Favorite film

Antonia's Line

Best part of being at SVC

SVC is an institution deliberately on the move. As such, faculty and staff are thinking about how to involve students in ways that will lead to meaningful learning.