Ryan Oto

I am an assistant professor in social studies education, where I also serve as the licensure program lead for social studies. I earned my Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction from the University of Minnesota where I examined the ways that educators and youth resisted anti-Black racism through enactments of intergenerational solidarity. My research is grounded in my thirteen years of experiences in K-12 schools, ten as a classroom educator and three as a teacher leader. As such, my research is guided by the philosophy that the purpose of research is to improve communities. This has led me to engage in an array of community-rooted issues, including examining the politics of engaging in anti-oppressive pedagogies as well as youth activism and organizing through youth participatory action research (YPAR). My most recent work examines how youth-led organizing and activism re-imagines the boundaries of civic education beyond the confines of classrooms to embrace the concepts of intergenerational and interracial solidarity, healing, and collective action.

What students can expect from me?

My teaching and research philosophies are grounded in the ethic of care and reciprocity. As such, students I work with can expect me to enter from a place of curiosity, working to build a shared understanding of how I might support and work alongside them in realizing their visions for their futures. To accomplish this, I work with students to devise strategic approaches to navigating coursework, research, and writing that honors their unique interests and purposes. I am intentional about adapting to the needs and interests of students, finding that I often learn far more and grow as an educator and scholar from this approach, while also living into the importance of collaboration as a source of generative ways of building knowledge. Importantly, my eagerness to collaborate with students on their ideas is framed by acknowledging the need for students to also build their own scholarly identity. In turn, I am someone who is ready and willing to introduce students to other scholars in fields whether I'm familiar with them or not. Ultimately, the relationships I aim to build with students reflect my commitment to realizing a more just world and so I work diligently to ensure that experience is felt in my advising capacity.