Amy Leaphart, MS, MA

Greetings. I’m Amy Leaphart, and I’m an instructor in the Department of English, the Arts, & Interdisciplinary Studies at USCB. I teach first year English courses as well as courses such as Writing for the Health Professions and Medical and Health Humanities.

My teaching goals have remained the same over the decades since my first semester teaching college English in 1995; every year I strive to create engaging yet challenging courses with relevant and direct application to students’ future lives. My interdisciplinary graduate education straddles both the humanities and sciences and supports my diverse teaching interests and experience. I have taught highly specialized courses such as medical education at MUSC to courses that are inherently transdisciplinary, such as medical and health humanities (at USCB) and gender studies (at the College of Charleston).

My research interests are simple and directly linked to my long-standing teaching goals: highly effective teaching and experiential, interdisciplinary strategies with real world applications for students. For example, one current scholarship of teaching and learning project with other faculty involves scenario-based course activities focused on the social determinants of health. Another research project is the study and use of story; narrative analysis provides an intersection between literature and the methods that professionals, such as nurses, teachers, coaches, and entrepreneurs, can use story to be more effective in their roles.

A realization I gained from my undergraduate honors classes that I think about often is that when a professor guides a student to think deeply and approach problems differently, those student’s gains are exponential. Whether you are a student or in some other role, I look forward to our interaction!