CHC Faculty Series: Deepika Marya is Cultivating Questioning & Democracy

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Welcome to the CHC Faculty Series, where we highlight the amazing educators that teach Honors classes and help form the core of the Honors College. I had the privilege to talk to senior lecturer Deepika Marya, who has been with the Honors College since 2015. When I was asked to interview a CHC faculty member, I immediately thought of Professor Marya. Although I took her section of ‘201H: Ideas that Change the World’ nearly two years ago when I was a first-year student, I still feel the impact of her teachings today, as her course opened new perspectives that changed how I viewed my own role in changing the world.

I asked Marya several questions about her approach to teaching Honors classes, how she views herself as an educator, and more:

Q: What is your favorite part of teaching Honors classes?

A: My favorite part of teaching, and what I find most exciting, is when students begin to examine their role in society - when they re-evaluate what they have learned about politics and struggle, and begin to see their role in shaping our society. Those are the moments that make the classroom come alive, and education becomes part of social responsibility.

Q: What is your approach to teaching your Honors classes?

A: My goal has always been to foster a caring and democratic environment where students are encouraged to think independently. Honors education, as I have understood it, is not only about empowering students, but also to cultivate the imagination and practice academic freedom.

Q: What makes Honors classes special?

A: Education, I would say, no matter which side you are on — as a faculty member or a student, is always an ideological project. Education is never neutral. By exposing students to educational, political and aesthetic mappings, our discussions advance a practice that nudges students to examine their daily lives [and] social values critically. An Honors seminar exposes students to thinking in ways that can enlarge their perspective.

Q: How has your experience teaching in CHC shaped how you see yourself as an educator?

A: Since CHC encourages critical practices and situating knowledge in social, cultural and political contexts, it has changed my conception of what it means to teach those who are considered "voiceless", and understand [that] they do have a voice, and critical thinking helps them find their voice. It has been [in] realizing the valuable role education can play in the life of a student, that I have come to see the role I can play. It is in creating opportunities in the classroom to cultivate the ability of students into critical thinkers that I see an opportunity for me to highlight what education can be.

Q: What would you say to a student who is reluctant to enroll in an Honors class, perhaps due to increased difficulty or workload?

A:  I would remind them the importance of a culture of questioning and what happens when critical thinking is discouraged - what happens is that democracy as an ideal withers away, [as] critical thinking is a precondition for a healthy democracy. It is how we learn to become citizens with agency. CHC education is an opportunity for students to become active social agents through rigorous intellectual engagement with peers and faculty in the fight against social injustices. Honors seminars are part of empowering practices that challenge authoritarian forms [of thought]. When students are part of CHC, they are invited to take the risk to dig deeper and understand what it means to be attentive to democratic practices in the classroom.

Q: What do you hope Honors students will take away from taking your Honors class?

A: I hope that students will come to understand that both politics and culture shape what happens in the classroom. Therefore, students become more aware of their convictions, critically examining them and begin to find their own discourses through scholarly exploration.

Clearly, Marya is very invested in her work and intentional in her role as an educator. Unsurprisingly, Marya won the College Outstanding Teaching Award for the last academic year (2022-2023). I highly encourage any Honors student to take any of her classes, whether you are a first-year Honors student looking to take ‘Ideas that Change the World’, or a senior Honors student looking for a 499 Thesis Seminar — you will always have an enriching experience with her as an educator.