I've designed and taught five courses as instructor of record, including both lectures and small seminar-style classes. I have been a TA for hundreds of students over seven semesters and many discussion sections, and I have experience with in-person, remote synchronous, and remote asynchronous instruction. As the philosophy department's Teaching Assistant Coordinator at UNC, I was responsible for the philosophy department’s teacher-training program for new TAs and TFs and planning department-wide teaching workshops. Before teaching at the university level, I worked for several years as a writing tutor for ESL high school students, and for several years as a camp counselor before that.
I am most qualified and excited to teach courses in ethics (including history of ethics, metaethics, and applied topics) as well as PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics). I have also worked to develop a teaching competence in Latin American philosophy. Below is a list of courses I've taught with syllabi and a sample of anonymous student reviews of my teaching.
This course covers introductory topics, but with texts exclusively from Latin America. It was developed with funding from the Syllabus Diversification Initiative with the hope of eventually getting administrative approval for a new course code for Latin American philosophy. Topics include Aztec metaphysics, ethical and epistemological issues arising during the colonization of the Americas, issues in political philosophy related to the various independence movements, and contemporary discussion of race, ethnicity, and identity.
A course on business ethics that covers both theoretical issues and topics of direct interest to students in their professional lives. The material includes theories of corporate social responsibility, sweatshop labor, our responsibilities as consumers, the ethical dimensions of career choice, employer/employee relations, and political questions surrounding markets and regulation.
An applied ethics course on contemporary topics in the health and life sciences, such as abortion, euthanasia, patient autonomy and medical paternalism, animal research, and commercial surrogacy. Since many of the topics covered are controversial and politically salient, there is a strong emphasis on careful and charitable argument reconstruction.
A course devoted to learning to think well in a complicated world. Topics include argument reconstruction, informal logic, fallacies, introductory formal logic, and probabilistic reasoning.
A history class focusing on the writings of Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and Albert Camus. We also consider existentialist themes in literature (e.g. Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, de Unamuno) and film (e.g. Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal), as well as existentialist thought outside of Europe (e.g. Fanon and Du Bois).
Fall 2022: Virtue, Value, and Happiness: An Introduction to Moral Theory
With Geoffrey Sayre-McCord (2 sections)
Spring 2023: Gateway to Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
With Luc Bovens (2 sections)
Spring 2024: Practical Ethics: Moral Reasoning and How We Live [Honors]
With Adam Hollowell & Sydney Echols (no recitation)
Fall 2019: Introduction to Logic - Critical Reasoning
With Matthew Knachel (3 sections)
Spring 2020: Introduction to Logic - Critical Reasoning
With Matthew Knachel (4 sections)
Fall 2020: Introduction to Logic - Critical Reasoning (Remote Asynchronous)
With Matthew Knachel (equivalent of 4 sections)
Spring 2021: Introduction to Logic - Critical Reasoning (Remote Asynchronous)
With Matthew Knachel (equivalent of 4 sections)
"Professor Ferguson was hands down the single best professor I have ever had. His class structures go far beyond simply including all and making them feel welcome, as his teaching style incorporates multiple styles of learning. Lectures, small group discussions, and short writing activities are just some examples which worked best for me."
“Zach is very accessible in and out of the class and is always willing to help when he can. He explains hard–to–grasp concepts well and makes learning difficult topics easier.”
“Professor Ferguson was a fantastic instructor. Writing was graded promptly and he took the time to leave feedback on all responses. Class was organized and engaging.”
“Very engaging lectures with opportunities to talk with peers about subjects, and then discuss as a class. Zach always asked thought–provoking questions that made me think about the subject matter in different ways.”
"Everything was great I wouldn't change a thing.”
“It was clear that Zach put a lot of thought and effort into the class. He gave good feedback on assignments and spent time listening to the input of students, but it was also the little things, such as giving each PDF reading a clear and useful name.”
“Zachary Ferguson did a wonderful job. He always made himself available for any questions or conversations, and in fact emphasized that he wanted to help us however he could. He also provided detailed feedback on all of our assignments, even just short discussion posts, that showed me he was really invested in our learning.”
“The style of lecture Zach gave was very helpful – incorporating a lot of interactive opportunities and discussions about the material in order to develop our own perspectives in addition to understanding others'.”
"He made class really engaging and allowed me to figure out how to think about topics deeper than I realized I could. He kept everything on topic but allowed us to follow our ideas within the topic making it fun to follow conversation and contribute to the class wide discussion."
“He was always welcoming and made it easy to ask questions.”
"He gave lots of opportunities to do different assignments and write about the topics that I actually found interesting. I also felt the material he chose for us to read was mostly easy to follow, as opposed to really jargon heavy, which made the reading interesting instead of impossible."
"The reading responses before class really helped to keep me accountable for readings due for class and made me prepared every time. I also really appreciated the reflection we did mid–semester to assess learning strategies. I was nervous for the oral exam, but still could articulate some key points I learned from the class and it was reflected well in my grade I got.
"I really like the concept of all of these different readings with the top 12 being graded. It made everything feel a lot more digestible and easier to understand and engage with."
"He was very good at explaining very dense materials. If I didn't understand something before class, I definitely left understanding it."
"I believe that the unit on 'what job you should take' was a great unit, as it helped give me some information on what to do for work."
"I wasn’t expecting to learn about South and Latin American culture and philosophy when I signed up for this course, but I am very glad that I have gotten the opportunity to do so."