TEACHING

I love being in a classroom.

Over the past thirty years, I have taught in a variety of contexts, from graduate seminars with doctoral and master’s level students, to one-on-one private lessons, to summer workshops with amateurs, to online writing workshops, graduate writing retreats, professional development workshops, flute masterclasses, and more.

I have led online workshops for the Creative Non-Fiction Collective Society’s annual national conference, as well as for the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia, and have also delivered creative writing workshops for academic conferences, and developed writing retreats.

I have had the great pleasure of mentoring inspiring graduate students working in a broad range of areas: from community health, to trans histories and geographies, maternal desire, social media activism, Brazilian feminisms, body mapping and gender, and more. Many former students have gone on to pursue doctoral work in a range of fields, from English (Oxford) and Community Health (Toronto), to Sociology (McGill), and Feminist and Gender Studies (Toronto, Western, Ottawa). Some have pursued professional qualifications (i.e. law degrees) or established careers as creative artists. Others work in a variety of fields, including communications, body mapping, events planning and consulting, and more in their local communities.

I favour an interactive and engaged teaching style, and arts-based classroom activities and evaluation methods. I am interested in centering generosity, creativity, playfulness, and joy.

In the past, my undergraduate and graduate students have written feminist detective stories, engaged in yarn bombing, created ‘zines, and developed a range of creative final projects. You can read more about my interest in non-traditional assignments here.

In 2015, I was awarded the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching at Memorial University.

WORKSHOPS, RETREATS, AND MORE

I work closely with individuals and groups to help them tell their stories as effectively as possible.

As a creative facilitator, I favour a dynamic approach that emphasizes playfulness, generosity, wonder, and possibility. Participants in my workshops are likely to use markers, stickers, scissors, and colours. They may also use tape, glue, and post-it notes.

Among others, I have offered writing retreats and workshops on a variety of topics, from building a writing a habit and grants crafting, to working with archival materials, social media in academia, and managing stressful situations.

STORIED SELVES

I am particularly interested in the possibilities of storytelling pedagogies, and in the potential of research as story.

I am currently developing a number of projects under the banner of my STORIED SELVES initiative. Check it out here.