Though she has been an educator for over a decade, Ulluminair Salim is a "student
at the foot of life." She joined the 黑料爆料鈥檚 Judy Genshaft Honors
College in 2017 and currently serves as an associate professor of instruction, a role
she leverages to enrich the academic and personal journeys of students from across
the university.
Salim earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree in social welfare from the University of California,
Berkeley; a master鈥檚 degree in public health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School
of Public Health; and a doctorate in sociology from the University of California,
San Francisco. Some of her most formative lessons, however, occured outside the classroom.
Growing up in an intergenerational household, she learned valuable life lessons from
the women who raised her.
鈥淢y mother returned to college to pursue her associate鈥檚 when I was ten years old,
so I'd be underfoot while she pored through her textbooks.鈥� Salim said. 鈥淪he majored
in social and behavioral sciences, so it's unsurprising that I鈥檓 a sociologist. She
modeled a love of learning and asked important sociological questions that I still
carry with me.鈥�
A Reflective Pedagogy
In her courses at the Honors College, Salim鈥檚 students use art and narrative to investigate
how their upbringings have shaped them in often unconscious ways. The objective of
Salim's courses is to create more conscious awareness.
In Narrative Cartography, students map the stories of their life, exploring what Salim
terms, "the worlds that live in them." 黑料爆料 engage in multiple forms of storytelling
during curated workshops and then design their own interactive workshops, reflecting
the themes and concerns of the course. During past semesters, students have developed
workshops ranging from "parasocial relationships" to "understanding your inner critic."
In Beasts and Burdens, students discuss inequality, resilience, power, privilege, and agency through film. The course features stories centered on marginalized characters such as Hushpuppy in "Beasts of the Southern Wild" and Jamal Malik in "Slumdog Millionaire." "Engaging with these narratives encourages students to examine the politics of representation and consider the 'other' in themselves," said Salim.
Salim also teaches Connections, a capstone course in collaboration with the Tampa
Museum of Art. Through that partnership, students train as tour guides for underserved
guests such as military veterans, individuals with Alzheimer鈥檚 or dementia, people
with substance use disorders, and their loved ones. By synthesizing research, artistic
techniques, and community-engaged learning, students produce capstone projects that
emphasize the importance of accessibility in public spaces, particularly cultural
institutions.
鈥淎lbert Einstein described play as the highest form of research,鈥� Salim said. 鈥淲hat
I think is special about teaching at Honors is that we鈥檙e able to play here in a way
that isn鈥檛 possible with a more standard curriculum. I appreciate the spaciousness
with which my students and I can explore the things we really care about.鈥�
Adapting When Things Fall Apart
To Salim, being an educator often requires adapting to unexpected circumstances.
During the fall 2024 semester, USF faced repeated closures due to Hurricanes Helene
and Milton. In the aftermath of Milton, widespread flooding and prolonged power outages
affected the surrounding area, forcing businesses to close and leaving many students
facing food and housing insecurity.
鈥淚 remember asking myself 鈥� how are we to conduct business as usual when many of us had lost power, housing, and cherished possessions? It would鈥檝e been insensitive to follow the original course schedule.鈥�
During a late night without power, Salim reimagined her course and developed a new workshop designed to meet students where they were. She asked students to bring in 鈥渁rtifacts鈥� from their hurricane experiences 鈥� trash bags, melted candles, portable chargers, flashlights 鈥� and use them to reflect on their personal experience of disaster.
鈥淭his new class prep, which came to me in the middle of the night, created an opening for us to be human together and situate our class in broader social and environmental contexts.鈥� Salim characterized the experience as a moment of disruption that fostered shared vulnerability and growth.
The following semester, another challenge arose when Salim observed that students were engaging with the course material differently than in prior years.
鈥淚鈥檝e experienced years of really dynamic, community-oriented experiences in the classroom, but then I faced my greatest challenge yet 鈥� the sense that students weren't resonating with the class, with each other, or with me,鈥� she said.
Rather than retreat, Salim humbled herself and communicated with students, committing to transform the space into something shared and generative. 鈥淚 appreciate opportunities to have difficult conversations in compassionate ways,鈥� Salim said.
A former student reflected on their experience saying, 鈥淚 felt deeply connected to the class in a way that was authentic. It enabled me to look deep and evaluate my thoughts, patterns, and emotions with greater compassion. I have learned to sit with myself without judgment, which has changed me as a person."
Collaborative Classrooms
Towards the end of each semester, Salim incorporates an instructional practice that invites students to design and facilitate their own 鈥淐hoose Your Own Adventure鈥� workshops. During these sessions, she assumes the role of symbolic student, joining peer discussions and completing the assignments that her students create 鈥� an approach that signals the course is not solely hers, but a shared intellectual space.
鈥淚n the symbolic student role, I can be Ulluminair rather than Dr. Salim,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat is when my greatest learning happens.鈥� Salim continues to draw inspiration from the ideas, questions, and creative risks from students鈥� workshops, integrating their teachings into ever-evolving workshops of her own.
鈥淭hrough student-led workshops, my classroom becomes a generative, co-creative space鈥� she added. 鈥淭hat communality continues to drive my creativity.鈥�