I present sociological concepts to students by linking them to contemporary social issues and culture, allowing course material to resonate with diverse student populations. By grounding abstract ideas in familiar contexts, I help students apply course material beyond the classroom and work toward meaningful social change.
Iterative Assignments and Critical Self-Reflection
My courses enable students to demonstrate mastery of course concepts through a variety of avenues. Written assignments in my courses build off one another, allowing students to develop ideas from earlier assignments. Incorporating improvement over time into my grading criteria captures students’ growth and their incorporation of earlier feedback.
I appreciate the educative power of critical self-reflection, allowing students to demonstrate mastery by connecting course concepts to their own lives. Essay assignments prompt students to consider how intersecting systems of domination compound and complicate privilege and disadvantage in their lives and to consider how they perform gender in day-to-day activities.
Combining Teaching with Research
I spent the 2023–2024 academic year supervising an independent study course with two undergraduate students. In weekly meetings, the independent study group discussions focused on furthering collaborative research and on students’ professional development. My independent study students presented a poster illustrating our research findings in Spring 2024 as part of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Celebration of Undergraduate Research. This presentation provided an opportunity to showcase the skills they developed and to demonstrate their capacity to actively shape the trajectory of social science research, demonstrating my determination to help students realize their full potential.
Select Student Feedback
Instructor of Record, SOC 250: Diversity in American Society (University of North Dakota)
“She was very actively engaged and I could tell that she was genuinely interested in the topics we covered. Also, the way she presented the information allowed us to consider new perspectives on different ideas. The topics covered could also have easily been presented in a very biased way, but I felt Professor Furl only ever explained different perspectives and ideas rather than pushing or encouraging us to adopt specific beliefs and perspectives.”
“I enjoyed her lecturing, and she was VERY helpful when I was struggling in the course near the midterm. One of her best qualities is her availability to her students. She makes a point of being available, responds quickly, and explains topics in depth.”
“I would recommend this course just because of the instructor. Professor Furl was extremely helpful and understanding. Not only was she understanding the fact that I don’t really need this for my major, but also in the fact that a lot of people that would attend this school haven’t heard about a lot of these issues. She was able to meet in the middle and provide us with lots of interesting information while not making it extremely stressful. I looked forward to going to this class.”
“The professor very clearly cares and is passionate about what she teaches, which makes it more fun to learn. She is super kind, understanding, and flexible. She fosters such an amazing learning environment.”
“Katie is such an amazing human and so easy to talk to. I recommend her 1000%!!“
Instructor of Record, SOC 460/560: Technology and Society (University of North Dakota)
“Katherine was a great instructor…The class was very well organized and if something came up she would let us know right away and make adjustments as needed. The class structure was very good, and you knew what to expect each week, and due dates were reasonable, feed back was great and overall…I would recommend this class and instructor for sure.”
“The information and articles used in the lectures were current material that is applicable to current events. The teacher is very good at communicating the learning material in a clear and concise manner that is easy to understand. The course allows us to explore aspects of technology that are both conventional and unconventional – which is very good for learning and for seeing how technology and society are integrated with each other…I can’t express enough how glad I am to have taken this course because it truly lived up to what I was hoping to explore and learn more about!!”
Instructor of Record, SOC 512: Advanced Sociological Theory (University of North Dakota)
“Dr. Furl was very accommodating to the online learning environment and the challenges of grad student priorities. She provided helpful feedback and gave additional resources when requested to help understand writing requirements and examples.”
“Helpful and understanding instructor who knows her stuff!”
Instructor of Record, SOCI/MNGT 412: Social Stratification (UNC-Chapel Hill)
“Katie stand[s] behin[d] and supports her students in a way that few instructors do. She is great at communication, both in class and over e–mail, and students understand what is expected of them. Katie is incredibly passionate about the learning material and values all the different ways students choose to relate to it. Her kindness and consideration coupled with her expertise in her topics of research would make her an asset to any learning institution.”
“Katie is a great professor! She provides excellent feedback, assigns interesting readings, and is very understanding if anything arises that would interfere with completing assignments on time. You can tell she really wants you to learn, but most importantly, she wants you to enjoy the process of learning.”
“A great instructor and always came to class with a positive attitude. She was wonderful to have a class with and was very personable. She is very understanding and cares about the course she teaches. I would love to take a course with her again! She also gives very helpful feedback.“
“She was incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about social stratification. I think she really focused on actually learning and making us think instead of testing us with memorization. I would not recommend any other professor in this course.“
“Professor Furl made learning possible for me with lecturing that was understandable and well–structured. Further, independent assignments had clear connections to class concepts and learning outcomes. She provides great personalized feedback to questions, and nobody leaves class confused.“
“She saw us as humans and realized we have lives outside of school. She made the format of the class tolerable and not a class that made you extremely stressed.”
“Very organized and dedicated instructor. She was well–prepared for lectures and always had a great attitude coming into class. She was accommodating but also challenged the class to think bigger. She connected all lectures to past topics and was just a great teacher.”
“Encouraged ANY comments. This is something that many professors don’t do and helped make the class significantly more engaging.“
“The kindest and most encouraging instructor I have ever had.”
Instructor of Record, SOCI/WGSS 124: Sex and Gender in Society (UNC-Chapel Hill)
“One of the most accommodating teachers I’ve ever had! She was willing to create a hybrid format and was very flexible with the ways we participate in class, which I appreciated. The mix of teaching styles lend[s] itself well to really understanding the material while keeping the students engaged.“
“Kept lectures engaging by using discussion points and in–class reflections, thus making the understanding of the topic extend beyond the theory to our daily lives…Being new to UNC, I really appreciated how the syllabus was always up to date (with grading being very clear) and when we had the essays, we reviewed the rubric and what was being asked from the essay. The feedback from the essay was also very helpful going into the second.“
“I loved Katie so much. She was extremely accommodating and really seemed to care about our wellbeing. She gave very detailed feedback on essays and was just generally very socially and culturally aware. She created a really comfortable classroom environment, where I felt like I could participate and not feel judged. Genuinely wish more instructors at Carolina were like her—she’s a gem!“
Teaching Assistant, SOCI/MNGT 412: Social Stratification (UNC-Chapel Hill)
“Katie was an amazing TA. Her comments in the Zoom chat kept students’ attention focused in class and made us feel motivated and appreciated. Her feedback on opinions shared in class and on assignments was very helpful. 10/10.“
“She was very helpful and had great feedback to help us understand where we went wrong. She really cared about us too.“
Katherine Furl 
