I didn’t exactly follow the typical path. I squeaked through high school and went right to work for a young company started by my father. Dad was offered an attractive opportunity that would have a huge impact on his ability to retire comfortably (small businesses typically don’t/can’t offer pensions) and my younger brother took his place. We continue to grow the company. I took the odd classes at WLU and managed to obtain a diploma in Business Administration. When I sold the companies I did some consulting work and enrolled...
Psychology
I love the senior level seminar or lab courses because you have so many opportunities to get to know your students well. I never walk away from these courses without learning as much as my students. I like the larger lecture courses for the great challenge of maintaining student interest and attention. It can be a bit like theatre. There’s also the adrenaline rush of knowing that if you pull off a stellar lecture or two you can actually change lives. Nothing gives me more pleasure than when I meet a former student who tells me that their experiences in my...
Philosophy
Over the years, I've almost completely stopped lecturing. I much prefer to serve as a moderator and let the students do the talking. I think that, in Philosophy at least, a model that emphasizes active student participation in the discussion is extremely effective at engaging students and helping them to come to terms with the material. I love being at the centre of a class of students who are energetically discussing and debating philosophical material. It's really fun and inspiring.
I probably have the most fun teaching my course Philosophy 202/WS 222 "Philosophy of Sex and Gender...
Political Science
Our students bring their curiosity about the world into the classroom and I think it’s important to nurture as well as expand their sense of wonder. I enjoy learning about and from my students as well as introducing them to new ideas. Having recently been seconded to the Department of Political Science, I look forward to bringing ethnographic insights and cultural theory to the questions posed by political scientists. In all of my courses, students are exposed to contemporary global issues. We examine the challenges posed by structural and direct violence, including...
Fine Arts
The main goal in my teaching is to guide students toward a rich and fulfilling understanding of why art is important to them and to our culture at large. I want them to respond enthusiastically to the world around them, to learn to trust their intuitions, and to understand that making art is another way of learning new things about themselves and their world. I hope that this process involves the cultivation of critical skills: an understanding and appreciation of the lessons of the past, and a desire to critically address them in current practice. While making art certainly entails...
