Teaching Contributions
I have been teaching at the University of Waterloo since 2006 and crossed the bridge to St. Jerome’s in 2014. Among the courses that I have developed and taught both individually and as part of a team are: Introduction to Linguistics (ENGL 306A), Old English (ENGL 305A), The Use of English (ENGL 140R), Varieties of English (ENGL 103B), Approaches to Style (ENGL 306G), Written Academic English (EMLS 129R), and Introduction to Academic Writing (ENGL 109). I have taught English to international students enrolled in Canadian colleges and universities at Conestoga College and Seneca College in Toronto while studying toward the TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) certificate.
Research and Other Contributions to the Field
There are two major threads in my research: Old Germanic languages (Gothic and Old English) and contemporary academic discourse. I have always been fascinated by the work of medieval translators and scribes. My examinations of Old English and Gothic texts aim to uncover the roles of individual scribes and correctors in shaping the texts. I have published on Gothic syntax; the Old English Exeter Book Riddles (short poems used both in an Anglo-Saxon classroom to instruct the students in the Biblical lore and for extracurricular entertainment); the Taunton Fragment, an eleventh-century bilingual (Latin-Old English) collection of expositions of gospel pericopes recently rediscovered; and the Old English translation of Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People. While reading and discussing the scholarly publications with my peers I noticed that some of them present the ideas in a very conventional way (an Introduction-Methods-Results-and-Discussion [IMRaD] format or an extended five-paragraph structure) while others experiment with genre and language. I began my investigation of academic writing in 2007 while pursuing my second Master’s degree at the University of Waterloo. I have since shared my findings on the genre of syllabus, research article, and reply/response in various forums. Most recently, I contributed a chapter on creativity in two written academic genres in the field of Language Studies.
Over the years, I have collaborated on multiple SSHRC- and NSERC-funded projects investigating healthcare communication and academic writing. These research initiatives brought together a multidisciplinary team of healthcare professionals and educators, rhetoricians, computer scientists, and software engineers. The most recent project developed the methods of automatic identification and correction of grammatical and discourse-related errors in academic writing.
Interests
I love travelling, and I am looking forward to getting back in the saddle as soon as the pandemic is over. Our family is missing guided tours of Mayan ruins in Mexico and ghost tours of the historic cities. We enjoy skating, though only one of us (my daughter), has any training.
Path to St. Jerome’s
Given my focus on medieval translations, my path to the university named after St. Jerome, a philologist and a teacher, seems to have been written in the stars. There may be no better roof for my research and teaching interests than the one over the institution with a renowned Medieval Studies program and various academic writing courses. I genuinely enjoy sharing my passion for language with students and colleagues, and I am delighted to contribute my knowledge and experience to St. Jerome’s University.