Thoughts on literature, teaching, and being a Canadian in the US

I’m happy to announce that I will be back in Burlington for a few days this coming week.  I’m one of the people behind a half-day symposium at UVM that is examining the role of women’s hockey in North America. This event is timed to coincide with the IIHF Women’s World Hockey Championships being held in Burlington from April 7-14th. Our goal is to bring together the worlds of hockey and academia for a conversation about how the game of hockey is changing thanks to the rapid growth of women’s hockey across North America.  If you get a chance, please come and join us for this event!

Face of the Game poster (final).pdf

PLEASE NOTE NEW LOCATION:

MEMORIAL LOUNGE, 338 WATERMAN BUILDING

(CORNER OF COLLEGE AND SOUTH PROSPECT STREET)

The Face of the Game:  Women’s Hockey in North America

A half-day symposium bringing together hockey scholars, writers, players, and fans in celebration of the 2012 IIHF Women’s World Championships.

Thursday, April 12, 20128:30 am – 12:00 pm

University of Vermont

Memorial Lounge, Waterman Building Room 338

“The Face of the Game: Women’s Hockey in North America” is a half-day symposium examining how women’s hockey is literally and figuratively changing the face of the game in North America. “The Face of the Game” will use a roundtable format, comprised of both academics and some of Canada’s finest hockey writers, to foster an engaging conversation about the role women’s hockey (and sport in general) plays in North American culture, particularly in how we understand and construct gender within sport. 
The first roundtable, comprised of both academics and some of Canada’s finest hockey writers, will examine the role of women’s hockey in literature and popular culture. The second panel will bring speakers from a variety of backgrounds to examine the past, present, and future of women’s hockey.

Confirmed Speakers:

• Dr. Angie Abdou, author of the bestselling sports novel The Bone Cage and an Instructor of sports literature. (College of the Rockies, Cranbrook, BC)

• Tim Bothwell played 500 games in the NHL, was an Assistant Coach for the Canadian Olympic Women’s Hockey Team in 2006, and the Head Coach of the UVM Women’s Hockey Team from 2006-12.

• Elizabeth Etue is the publisher of WINIH.com, co-author On the Edge, Women Making Hockey History and the author of Hayley Wickenheiser: Born to Play. She was the writer and associate producer of the CBC documentary Chasing the Dream and a columnist for The Hockey News from 2005-2008.

• Dr. Jeff Gerson, author of a recent study on women coaches in NCAA and Canadian University hockey. Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Massachusetts Lowell.

• Richard Harrison, author of Hero of the Play, a best-selling collection of poems about hockey, and co-editor of Now Is the Season, a collection of essays on hockey. Associate Professor of English, Mount Royal University, Calgary.

• Cara Hedley, author of 20 Miles, a widely read and studied novel on women’s hockey. PhD student, University of Calgary.

• Meg Hewings, General Manager of the Stars de Montréal Women’s Hockey Team, journalist, and graduate student at McGill University.

• Dr. Andy Holman, editor of Canada’s Game: Hockey and Identity. Professor of History, Bridgewater State University.

• Dr. Paul Martin. Expert on hockey in Canadian literature. MacEwan University, Edmonton.

This blog has been long dormant for some fairly good reasons. The main one is that I’m not currently a Canadian living in the US. I’ve returned to Edmonton, Alberta to take a new three-year position at Grant MacEwan University. The institution is growing like crazy and, as the new Faculty Development Coordinator here I have lots to keep me busy. I’m very excited to have joined MacEwan at this important moment in its 40 year history as an institution.

My new job involves many responsibilities that connect to the roles I played at the U of Vermont. I’m responsible here for organizing many big events, including the new faculty orientation, Faculty Development Day, the National Great Teachers Institute, and the MacEwan Book of the Year program.  I also run workshops for faculty on topics such as student engagement and integrating technology into their teaching.

I’m also getting some great opportunities to develop new skills and areas of expertise. I’m also getting more writing and research done than i have in a long time.  I do miss teaching, but helping other faculty to become more effective teachers is just as satisfying.

I’ve been doing a bit of blogging at the Faculty Commons website, but I’ll be posting longer versions of those entries here from time to time. It feels great to be writing here again. Please do stick around and stay tuned.

Course registration begins Tuesday for those of you who will be seniors next year and then continues to open up through the week on the basis of what year you’re in.

For those of you who are currently seniors and are soon to be graduating, I wish you the very best. Congratulations! 

Those of you who are currently freshpeople (eventually someone will find a gender-inclusive replacement for freshman, but let’s go with freshpeople for now), are supposed to see me so that I can remove your advising hold. I recommend you do so, but because time is short I will remove those holds right away. Try to come see me this week before registering. If not, come see me after so that I can go over what you’ve chosen with you. 

You’ll find after the break a full list of my open advising times this week. I’m trying to set some time aside in each day for you. If  you’re a freshperson, please consider choosing one of the Thursday spots so that I  can save the Tuesday spots especially for incoming seniors etc. As you’ve done in the past, please email me with the spot you’d like and I’ll slot you in on a first come first served basis. 

I look forward to seeing you soon.

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[What follows is the text of the email I just sent to our local school board.  South Burlington teachers are set to hold a strike vote tomorrow. More information can be found at the website of the South Burlington Educators Association and at the South Burlington School District website.]

Hello,

I’m a parent of two children at Chamberlin School who is very concerned about the decision of the board to walk away from the bargaining table and to impose working conditions on our teachers. I understand your position that you need to keep the fiscal realities of our city in mind when negotiating with the teachers, but imposing conditions like this is a dangerous precedent. I fully support our teachers’ right to strike in the face of such a decision.

I do understand that our teachers are some of the best paid in the state.  Instead of the board and other people in the city suggesting that our teachers have it better than anyone else and should be grateful for what they get,  the board could play a leadership role in asking why other districts do not make the choice that South Burlington has made to compensate our teachers fairly.  As a taxpayer, I strongly support the decision to pay teachers well here and would gladly go along with an increase in my taxes if that meant that we could continue to do a good job in South Burlington in preparing our children for the future.

Having explained the situation to my daughter, who is 11, she immediately responded that if the teachers go on strike she will want to walk the picket line in support of her teachers.  Should a strike occur, she and I, along with many families will be doing just that in support of our district’s fine teachers.  I hope, though, that the school board can help to avert a strike by showing good faith in returning to the bargaining table.  That spirit of cooperation is what I want to be teaching my children rather than what it means to walk the picket line.

Sincerely,

In my time here as Director, I’ve been interviewed as an “expert” on Canadian foreign policy, the state of the Canadian media, the Quebec provincial election, the Government of Canada’s apology to the First Nations, current events in Canada, and, of course, the expansion of Tim Hortons into the US.   Here’s my latest foray in the Vermont media.  Someday, someone will ask me about Canadian literature, right?

Seriously, though, I love what I do and am always happy to speak to media.  The media people I have dealt with here always know a lot about Canada and aim to make their audience more aware of Canadian issues.  Who can say no to helping out with that?

This photo is of Peter Shumlin and me on Election Day. He was nice enough to hold my Philip Baruth sign while I stepped away for a few minutes. Any Governor who has read Alistair MacLeod and knows him personally is a friend of mine and a friend of Canada’s.

Here’s a description of my upcoming Winter Session class on hockey and Canadian literature, which runs from January 3-14th 2011.

“Hero of the Play”: Hockey in Canadian Literature

[If you're not one of my more than 40 student advisees, please ignore this post]

Fall registration begins for Seniors on Tuesday, November 16, and opens up for everyone else gradually over that week. Make sure to check  UVM’s registration schedule to see when you may begin registering for Spring classes.

I’m setting aside enough 15 minute appointments over the next week or so to meet with all of my advisees. I’ll be available to answer any advising questions and to help review your choice of courses for the spring semester. If you’ll be a senior planning on graduating in spring 2011, you should definitely come to see me before registering so that we can make sure you’ll be set to graduate.

If you’re a student in my TAP class, you don’t need to sign up for one of these advising times. Please see me during Wednesday’s special advising session.

Keep reading after the break for further details and to choose your appointment time.

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Douglas Coupland’s been getting a lot of media coverage for his Massey lecture “Player One: What is To Become of Us?” which he’s currently in the process of delivering across Canada.  The CBC has produced this short trailer for Player One, which is, I would assume, the first trailer ever produced for a Massey lecture. After watching that, check out this interesting (and funny) interview about Player One between Coupland and a journalist from the Ottawa Citizen.

Coupland’s also been getting people talking with two recent pieces published in The Globe and Mail, the first “A Glossary of New Terms for a Messed-Up Future” and, the second, “A radical pessimist’s guide to the next 10 years.”  Listen to this interview about the latter piece that Coupland did this week with NPR’s All Things Considered.

As you’ll see from my blog for English 180, my students (and I) have really enjoyed reading and discussing Coupland’s novel The Gum Thief. I’m really looking forward to getting ahold of Player One later this week and to hearing the Massey lectures once they’re available online.



For over a half century, UVM students have been participating in our annual Ottawa field trip. Students from UVM courses on Canada this semester and students from the Canadian Politics class at St. Michael’s College will be headed to Ottawa for three days. During our stay, we’ll attend Question Period, meet with Members of Parliament, tour the House of Commons, visit the Museum of Civilization and the National Gallery, and attend an Ottawa 67s game. Students will also have ample time to explore and experience Ottawa on their own.

Needless to say, this trip is a huge amount of work for me and the three other faculty involved.  It is also, however, our favourite event of the year, by far. Most students tell me years later that this trip was their favourite experience during their entire four years at UVM. I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to take my students there each year.

Here is the full itinerary for this year’s trip:

• Depart from south side of Waterman Building (College Street) at 7:00 AM sharp. Participants will arrive no later than 6:45 in order to assure a prompt departure, because Parliament won’t wait for us (and we won’t wait for you). Students ought to be dressed for Parliament (i.e. “business attire” -jackets and ties for men) because there is no time/place to change once we are on the bus. We will plan on arriving at St. Michael’s at 7:05 to pick up the St. Mike’s group.

• Brief lunch at the Rideau Centre in Ottawa before walking over to Parliament.

• Walk to Parliament for tours and to go up the Peace Tower and view the Memorial Chamber (if time allows).  Tours for Massell students (Group A) are at 12:15.  Tours for Ayres and Martin students (Group B) are at 12:30.

• 2:00-3:00: Attend Question Period

• 3:00-4:30: Meet with MPs in room 209 West Block.

• Group photo outside of Parliament.

• 5:30: Quick group meeting after checking in at the Lord Elgin.

• Dinner on your own.

Friday, October 22:

• Breakfast on your own.

• 9:00-3:30: Tours of the Grand Hall and Canada Hall at the Canadian Museum of Civilization and tour of Canadian art at the National Gallery of Canada.  Group A will report to Lord Elgin lobby by 8:45 AM and bus will leave for Museum of Civilization at 9:00 (9:30 tour).  Group B will report to Lord Elgin lobby by 9:15 AM and bus will leave for Museum of Civilization at 9:30 (10:00 tour).

• Lunch on your own at Museum of Civilization before heading to National Gallery.  Group A and B leave for National Gallery at 12:30 PM (1:00 tour).

• 3:30: Both buses leave National Gallery for Carleton University.

• 4:00-6:00: Author reading and reception with Richard Harrison

• 6:45: Bus leaves for hockey game, Ottawa 67s vs. the Brampton Battalion at Ottawa Civic Centre.

Saturday, October 23:

• Breakfast on your own. Morning free for shopping, sightseeing, touring, etc.

• Check out of Lord Elgin by 12:30 PM.

• 1:00: Buses depart from Lord Elgin. Arrive in Burlington around 5:00 PM.

PARTICIPANTS SHOULD NOTE:

Crossing the border: A passport, passport card, or enhanced driver’s license is now required to cross the US-Canadian border.  Students will need to present such documentation before boarding the bus.

Dress Code: Dress is “business attire” Thursday, and “neat and clean” Friday. In general, pack for chilly weather.

Money and Food: We will provide refreshments at the Carleton reception and vouchers for concession food at the hockey game.  $75 – 100US should cover other meals. We strongly suggest that students exchange at least some of this at a local Burlington bank (including the Chittenden bank inside the Davis Center) before October 21.   You may want to bring a few snacks.

Ground Rules: Attendance and participation at all scheduled activities is required. “Downtime” is your own. Be very aware that your conduct and actions represent UVM, St. Mike’s, Vermont, and the USA. We expect and require nothing but the most respectful and responsible behavior while you are on the trip.

Students who violate the UVM or St. Mike’s student codes of conduct during the trip will be asked to leave the trip and return home by their own means. We have done this before and will not hesitate to do it again. These incidents have been incredibly rare in the over fifty-year history of this trip. The students from Vermont have a stellar reputation with the Lord Elgin Hotel, the House of Commons, and every other institution we visit. Each year, our students are recognized as being great ambassadors for the United States. You do not want to be the person who breaks our very successful record in Ottawa. If you do, we may just feed you to this giant spider at the National Gallery…

READING BY STEPHEN BRUNT AND RANDALL MAGGS

Author bios:

Stephen Brunt, a columnist at the Globe and Mail, is Canada’s premier sportswriter and commentator. About his most recent book, Gretzky’s Tears: Hockey, Canada, and the Day Everything Changed, the Montreal Gazette wrote “Long the consensus pick as Canada’s best sportswriter, Brunt has probably earned the right to be called one of our best writers, period.” His previous book, the #1 national bestselling Searching for Bobby Orr, was called “not only one of the best hockey books ever, but a book that transcends hockey” by the Edmonton Journal. Brunt is also the author of Facing Ali: The Opposition Weighs In; The Way it Looks from Here: Contemporary Canadian Writing on Sports; Mean Business: The Rise and Fall of Shawn O’Sullivan; Second to None: The Roberto Alomar Story and Diamond Dreams: 20 Years of Blue Jays Baseball. He lives in Hamilton, Ontario, and in Winterhouse Brook, Newfoundland.

Randall Maggs is the author of two collections, Timely Departures (1994) and Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems (2008) and co-editor of two anthologies pairing Newfoundland and Canadian poems with those of Ireland. Night Work won the Kobzar Literary Award, 2008 Winterset Award, the 2009 E.J. Pratt Poetry Award and was a Globe and Mail top 100 book of 2008. Maggs is artistic director of Newfoundland’s March Hare festival of music and literature and has just retired from teaching literature at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College, Memorial University, Corner Brook, Newfoundland.

Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems is a hockey saga, wrapping the game’s story in the “intense, moody, contradictory” character of Terry Sawchuk, one of its greatest goalies. In compact, conversational poems that build into a narrative long poem, Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems follows the tragic trajectory of the life and work of Terry Sawchuk, dark driven genius of a goalie who survived twenty tough seasons in an era of inadequate upper-body equipment and no player representation. The book is illustrated with photographs mirroring the text, depicting key moments in the career of Terry Sawchuk, his exploits and his agony.