teaching

Teaching Assistant
The Social World
Fall 2023 with Dr. Ryan Hagen; Spring 2026 with Dr. Marissa E. Thompson
Columbia University
Introduction to Sociology. Identification of the distinctive elements of sociological perspectives on society. Readings confront classical and contemporary approaches with key social issues that include power and authority, culture and communication, poverty and discrimination, social change, and popular uses of sociological concepts.
Social Theory
Spring 2024 with Dr. Andrew Anastasi
Barnard College
Theoretical accounts of the rise and transformations of modern society in the 19th and 20th centuries. Theories studied include those of Adam Smith, Tocqueville, Marx, Durkheim, Max Weber, Roberto Michels. Selected topics: individual, society, and polity; economy, class, and status: organization and ideology; religion and society; moral and instrumental action.
Methods for Social Research
Fall 2024 and Fall 2025 with Dr. Amy Zhou; Spring 2025 with Dr. Randa Serhan
Barnard College
Introductory course in social scientific research methods. Provides a general overview of the ways sociologists collect information about social phenomena, focusing on how to collect data that are reliable and applicable to our research questions.
Anonymous Teaching Evaluations

Eva is great! In her discussion sections, there was a good balance between her speaking, asking questions, and our responding and facilitating the discussion (The Social World, Spring 2026)

I really enjoyed having Eva as a TA. I think we won the jackpot. She was very kind, thorough, competent, and fair. (Methods for Social Research, Fall 2025)

Eva Chen is an outstanding TA. She answers all questions clearly and thoroughly, and her approachable demeanor makes it easy to seek help or clarification. She’s incredibly quick and efficient, ensuring that no time is wasted, and her sessions are always well-planned, engaging, and incredibly useful. Honestly, her discussion sections were the best part of this course—they added so much value and made the material far more accessible and enjoyable. (Methods for Social Research, Fall 2024)

Such an incredible TA! She worked to connect really difficult theory texts to contemporary ideas, as well as simplfied them and explained them really well. She was so understanding too, and so respectful of her students. i also loved the structure of the class, in which a broad question was posed, we would discuss it in groups, and then return to the larger class. This allowed for truly facinating conversations and helped me understand and contexualize the course material well. (Social Theory, Spring 2024)

Eva is a very friendly and personable teacher in my opinion, as I always felt like I could go to her with questions if I ever had them or issues in my personal life that may bar my ability to come to class or turn in assignments on time. Additionally, I feel that she was able to communicate the readings on our syllabus in a very effective manner with the limited time we had each week, and I came out of each discussion section feeling like my understanding of the readings had received a proper bow to tie it all together. (Social Theory, Spring 2024)

Eva was a great discussion leader! She really helped clarify concepts from lecture and it felt easy to participate in discussion because of the environment she created (The Social World, Fall 2023)