Frederick

Working with students one-on-one requires more than simply explaining difficult concepts — it calls for a sense of what drew you to the social sciences in the first place. What was it that first sparked your interest in how societies work, or how culture shapes meaning? Getting a sense of who you are, what kinds of questions excite you, and what puzzles you will help me tailor our sessions to your strengths, curiosities, and learning style.

Whether it’s kinship diagrams that feel lifeless on the page or the dense abstractions of Durkheim’s thought, my aim is to make these ideas come alive by connecting them to your own interests and experiences. I am patient and persistent in breaking down complex theories, and I don’t tire until you can see how they speak to the present — to the world you inhabit and the questions you already ask of it.

Society, after all, is as wide and diverse as the world we live in, and so too are the ways of studying it. Our work together will begin from where you are: your essays, your notes, your areas of uncertainty. From there, I’ll design tailored exercises, reading guides, and essay prompts based on the key texts and topics of your course. These will help you deepen understanding, improve retention, and, crucially, build confidence in thinking through theory and evidence on your own terms.

My broader aim is not only to help you revise effectively but also to cultivate a more personal relationship to your subject — to see ideas as living things that can change how you look at the world. Knowing what inspires you allows me to suggest further readings that open up those lines of thought.

As someone aspiring to a career teaching and researching in the social sciences, I approach tutoring as a reciprocal process: your feedback and your ways of thinking help me refine my own teaching and remain alert to the diverse forms that learning can take. Above all, I hope that through our sessions you’ll find that the social sciences are not simply something to be learned, but a way of thinking that can accompany you far beyond your studies.