I teach broadly on East Asian culture, religion, literature, and history. Across my courses, I emphasize close engagement with primary sources, interactive learning, group collaboration, and a carefully scaffolded learning process. I also aim to connect course materials to students’ lived experiences so that the study of the past can speak meaningfully to broader human questions.
My teaching has spanned a wide range of institutional contexts, including a public R1 university (the University of Arizona), a small liberal arts college (Trinity University), and, most recently, an international university with a diverse student body from around the world (Beijing Language and Culture University). I have taught large lectures, small discussion-based classes, and both synchronous and asynchronous online courses.
Instructor of Record
Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, China
- Introduction to Confucian Classics 儒家經典導讀, Spring 2026
- Western Sinology and Ming-Qing Fiction 海外明清小說研究, graduate seminar, Spring 2026
Trinity University, San Antonio, TX
- Deity Tales: East Asian Religions in Vernacular Novels to the Digital Age, Spring 2025
- Chinese Religions: Unity and Diversity, Spring 2024 (Download my syllabus here)
- Asian Religions, 2023–2025 (Download my syllabus here)
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
- Buddhists, Bandits, and Beauties: Masterworks of Chinese Fiction from the 1500s to the Digital Age, Spring 2023 (Download my syllabus here)
- Chinese Civilization, Fall 2022; Summer 2019–2023
Teaching Assistant
University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
- Mind-Altering Substances in the Ancient World, Spring 2023
- Yoga, Spring 2022
- Pyramids and Mummies, Spring 2022
- Worlds of Buddhism, Spring 2021
- Buddhists, Bandits, and Beauties: Masterworks of Chinese Fiction from the 1500s to the Digital Age, Spring 2019–2021
- Chinese Civilization, 2017–2021
- Love in World Religions, Fall 2021
- Asian Religions, Spring 2018
Language Teaching
In addition to content courses, I have taught Chinese language in the Critical Language Program at the University of Arizona and assisted in language courses at the Hamilton Lugar School at Indiana University, Bloomington.
Selected Teaching Materials
Flier of the course “Chinese Religions” at Trinity University
3D-printed print block used in teaching. Model based on Doug Daniels, dataset for Jin gang jing xin jing gan ying tu shuo 金剛經心經感應圖說, pp. 31–32 (2017), University of North Texas Libraries, CC0.
Sample Classroom Activity: “Create Your Own Kami”: An in-class collaborative exercise designed to help students explore Shinto through visual imagination, origin myths, and religious interpretation.
Student Feedback
“Dr. Yao has extremely fair and detailed guidelines for each assignment and provides constructive responses to them. It makes grading very fair and understandable.”
——Student from “Deity Tales”
“The concepts were quite difficult in this class and often challenged the students to think; however, the professor was able to explain them effectively in simpler terms… Her enthusiasm for the subject is contagious.”
——Student from “Chinese Religions”
“She tries to connect anything that is modern to things or events of the past to give us a better understanding of the material. Almost every lecture had a connection to pop culture, which I found very exciting.”
——Student from “Asian Religions”
“We had a lot of great discussions where we could express our thoughts, and I never felt like I couldn’t speak up. The teacher was able to listen and give feedback without any bias, which creates a more comfortable environment.”
——Student from “Chinese Civilization”