If Philippa can sing the praises of Laurentian and Sudbury, I feel I
can say a little about the Mount and Halifax.
First let me say that the department intends to hire in both fields --
drama AND rhetoric and composition -- but the university in its
wisdom does not permit us to advertise both positions in one year.
If we hire in one field this year, we expect to advertise in the other
next.
You can get something of a feel for the department from our
website -- but let me say that we are a very collegial and
committed group. We take our work seriously and we know how to
enjoy ourselves, too. A number of us take advantage of particular
opportunities available to us in a small university which is
neighbour to larger ones. For instance, many of us are adjunct
faculty in Dalhousie's graduate program, which entitles us to
propose and teach graduate courses at Dal as well as to assist in
the supervision of thesis work. (I have to admit, with regret, that
the Dal grad committee has not accepted my proposal for a grad
course in rhetoric and composition. That challenge remains.)
Others of us are involved in the Mount's Women's Studies program
and the newer Cultural Studies program. We are excited about our
new certificate in professional writing and rhetoric, which has a very
flexible design -- intentionally, so that the new appointee can put
her or his stamp on it.
We are a unionized faculty, in the middle of collective bargaining
just now. One of the articles just signed off (though the conclusion
of the contract is some weeks away) provides for a reduced
teaching load for new appointees: we teach three courses a term,
but new appointees will have a 3/2 load. New appointees are also
eligible for a course relief in order to prepare a major grant
application. Our class sizes are small: writing classes are capped
at 25, with 20 for senior seminars. Our courses meet various
needs in various programs of the university. Our first-year writing
course has the greatest variety of students, as it is often chosen
by students who need a non-specified English credit, but it is
required for students in the public relations degree program. Our
upper-level courses are in increasing demand: for the second year
in a row, my second-year "Writing to Influence" course has a
double-digit waitlist.
And we're in Halifax -- not right downtown, but on the edge of
Bedford Basin. Halifax is one of the most livable cities in the world,
I think, and I've lived in quite a few ... and the international airport
makes it pretty easy to get out of, too. My colleagues also want
me to point out that we have just had the "hurricane of the century"
so it should be safe to move here!
If I can answer any questions, I'll be happy to do so.
Susan
* * * * * * * * * *
Susan Drain, Ph.D. Tel: 902 457 6220
Chair, Department of English Fax: 902 457 6455
Mount Saint Vincent University [log in to unmask]
Halifax, NS
Canada B3M 2J6
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