Showcase Spring 2010

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SPRING 2010

L E A D I N G - E D G E

T E A C H I N G

A N D

R E S E A R C H

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T R E N T

A Mantra to Teach By Involving students in her research both in and outside of the classroom has always been an important aspect of Dr. Winnie Lem’s teaching mantra. Whether it is hiring students to conduct bibliographic searches for relevant information or assigning them to be interpreters and assistants in the field, conducting interviews or taking photos, the involvement and participation of students is always key for Professor Lem, who teaches in both the Women’s Studies and International Development Studies (IDS) programs at Trent. “I have benefited greatly from both the practical help that students have provided in my work and also from the intellectual work of student assistants, as many have helped to introduce new lines of inquiry in my research,” she says. “And for all students, and particularly graduate students, I hope the work they do with me is a way of getting some experience that can be used when they eventually do their own independent research.” For Prof. Lem, the opportunity to provide students with knowledge and experience that can assist and guide them in their future endeavours, is one of the greatest and most rewarding parts of being a professor at Trent. And no matter what course she is teaching or has taught, from the Cinema of Development and Underdevelopment to Human Inequality in Global Perspective, her hopes for her students are the same: “I hope students are able to gain an appreciation of scholarship as a way of deepening an understanding of the forces that are implicated in the way people live, work, think about and also act upon the world in which we inhabit.”

The Interdisciplinary Lens Reflecting on a teaching career at Trent that has spanned nearly two decades and is still going strong, Prof. Lem recalls how she was first drawn to a university that prided itself on offering unique and innovative interdisciplinary programs. Cross-appointed between two distinct programs, Prof. Lem has contributed greatly to Trent’s reputation as a leader in interdisciplinary learning. And since starting at the University in 1991 she has become more of a believer in the benefits of this multi-faceted approach to education. “Every field or discipline is a lens through which to view the complexity of the phenomena we study. Interdisciplinary teaching and learning offers another optic through which we can view the questions and problems that concern us,” Prof. Lem explains. “It allows us to confront that complexity and enhances our work as teachers and students in interpreting and engaging with the world in which we live.” continued over

INSIDE President Steven Franklin releases new book on Remote Sensing .........3 2010 Canada Wide Science Fair coming to Trent .........................................4 Trent becomes new home for renowned Cultural Studies Journal...........7

LEARNING TO MAKE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE.

TM


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