Carnegie Mellon University

Faculty Friday: Christopher Phillips

August 07, 2015

Faculty Friday: Christopher Phillips

By Phoebe Ng

I think most professors enjoy a sense of humor, and I think that a lot of students think that they have to be really serious on all their assignments. There’s a time and place for being serious but what a lot of students don’t realize is that when you’re reading a bunch of papers or a bunch of exams, funny asides are oftentimes really welcome. It can be really cool to get a sense of how somebody finds something particularly oxymoronic or ridiculous or hilarious. It’s a fun aspect of grading or reading student work.

"I think students may be afraid of trying to be funny … but most people I know like a sense of humor in student responses!"

#FacultyFriday: Christopher Phillips is a historian of science and 20th century America, whose research interests include the history of science and math education. He’ll be teaching 79-338 History of Education in America this fall—and stay tuned for news on his Spring ’16 course offering (one word hint: moneyball.)

Read more about Prof. Phillips » All Faculty Friday profiles »