Naimah Petigny, Schiller Family Assistant Professorship in Race in Art and Design Assistant Professor of Literary Arts and Studies, and Falaks Vasa, Critic, Digital + Media, join the Teaching & Learning Lab as Faculty Fellows in 2026-2027. Naimah and Falaks will be offering faculty consultations and programming on a range of topics, including feminist, queer, anti-racist, and decolonial pedagogies, embodied learning, writing pedagogies, first year student learning, collaboration, community-building, and joy in the classroom/studio.

Naimah Petigny

Naimah’s approaches to teaching and learning are grounded in her deep appreciation of difference, love of creative structures, and dedication to liberatory education. Her pedagogy remains deeply attuned to the cultural and political foundations of her fields of  Black Studies and Feminist Studies. Thus, as an educator, she centers lived experience and invests in the transformation of systems of oppression.  

Book an appointment with Naimah to talk about: SEI course tagging, writing pedagogies, embodied learning, strengthening facilitation skills, Black Studies and Feminist Studies epistemologies, 1st year student learning, and navigating your positionality as an instructor. 

Falaks Vasa

Falaks Vasa (they/she, b. Kolkata) is a multidisciplinary artist, educator, and writer with a set of practices that oscillate playfully between transparency, opacity, and il(libglitiey).

As an artist, Falaks’ work spans video, performance, fiber art, 3D animation, and more. Their work has been exhibited internationally, including in the UK, Netherlands, Italy, India, Canada, and the US, and their residencies include ACRE and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. As an educator, she teaches interdisciplinary courses across various departments at RISD and MassArt. Her pedagogy is experimental, grounded in trust, community, and joy, and has been recognized with the Archambault Award for Teaching Excellence by Brown University.

Book an appointment with Falaks to talk about: how teaching fits into studio practice; community-building in the classroom; effective lesson planning; collaborative knowledge-production; teaching portfolios; adjunct-life; strategies for student participation; queer, decolonial, anti-racist, and anti-caste approaches to education; embracing joy in the classroom.

Photo credit: header image by Kaylee Pugliese

T&LL
September 28, 2026