Teaching
Students enjoy my classes because they teach thinking through history. Incorporating historiographical controversies and primary sources, I expose students to the difficulties of studying societies and cultures through the imperfect sources they left behind. The appreciation for complexity, the scholarly empathy, and the sensitivity for language students gain in my class serve them in their studies and beyond — as do the writing skills they develop along the way.
For over a decade, I have taught diverse students in various institutional settings. Before Yale, I taught Middle Eastern languages and history while under military conscription. My record of teaching at Yale includes undergraduate classes in history and the Humanities, as well as a year-long M.A. workshop for thesis writers.
My teaching portfolio, available upon request, includes a range of regional classes, cross-regional methodological classes (such as sociolinguistics for historians), and courses that prepare students for reading sources in Slavic, Turkic, and other languages. I am particularly interested in developing proficiency in foreign languages in history classes and writing across the curriculum.
“Orel made my semester — at office hours he went above and beyond to offer to help my learning in many ways, including offering to help my writing skills, offering supplemental book recommendations, and study abroad advice. I can’t praise Orel enough!!!!!!”
“He balanced out the philosophical focus of the lectures by using his knowledge as a social historian to ground the ideas in real world history. In other words, he often focused on the impacts these ideas had on real people. Orel’s expertise in language was also enlightening because this class deals with a large swath of thinkers using various languages.”
“Orel was an incredible instructor. He was passionate about the material, articulate in his explanations of complex ideas, and always prepared for any question that came his way. I enjoyed his teaching style and the enthusiasm he brought to every class. Orel is without a doubt one of my favorite teachers in my four years at Yale.”
“Orel also taught in an engaging way by at once making us learn new information that would deepen our knowledge of the topics, while also encouraging students to participate at their will. As such, there was no coerced sense of “I need to talk,” so conversations flowed very smoothly and everyone was deeply engaged.”