Meet Tyler Denmead, HIAA BA ‘98 
Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Cambridge and Dean of College, Official Fellow, and Director of Studies in Education at Queens’ College
Teaching university students is an immense privilege,
one that I never take for granted. I am also fortunate to teach undergraduates and postgraduates in small groups in the beautiful environment of a 15th century college at the University of Cambridge.
My advice for undergrads is to go analog!
Spend more time with physical books, slow down thinking through handwriting, and develop a daily ritual of observing, thinking, and communicating ideas on paper…. I’m afraid that as educators we have done the current generation of university students a disservice by accepting the apparent inevitability of digital technologies in all aspects of their lives, including education. My students are struggling with focus and distraction more than ever. Of course, digital technologies can be immensely helpful, but they do not think for us and they can interfere with learning how to think.
I learned so many skills at Brown that are critical to my career!
Through my art history studies, I learned visual analysis and how to write an essay. Through the open curriculum, I learned to trust my intellectual curiosities. Through the center for public service, I learned the value of combining critical thought with pragmatic action. Through my friendships, I learned how to love. I’m so grateful for my Brown education.
I started volunteering in a Providence elementary school my freshman year.
I witnessed firsthand what the American journalist Jonathan Kozol then referred to as the savage inequalities in American education. In contrast to the stereotypical representations of urban schools at the time, I found a far more complex scenario with dedicated public school teachers, smart kids, and concerned parents being undermined by a structurally under-resourced public school system. That said, I thought I could make the greatest impact on public education through experimenting with a community-based model of learning outside the school building and the school day. I was also drawn to the arts for the radical role they can play in allowing us to imagine and create new worlds where everyone can flourish. New Urban Arts sprang out of that vision, one that a countless number of people have contributed to for nearly 30 years now!
I’m most proud…
of being recognised as the best supervisor of doctoral students in UK universities in 2023. I recently co-authored a book with one of my former doctoral students, Dr. Amina Shareef, titled “Rethinking Critical Race Theory: Education Against Elimination in a Time of Genocide.”
