"For out of the old fieldes, as men saithe, cometh al this new corne fro yere to yere; And out of old bookes, in good faithe, cometh al this new science that men lere." Chaucer, Parlement of Foules.
The above quote is one of my favourites. It reminds us that all current knowledge rises from the foundation of the wisdom that came before us. All the same, the future will look back on us with the same anthropological eye that we use to peer into our past, and they will consider us just as foolish and barbaric.
I completed my PhD at the University of Edinburgh in May of 2018. Since then, I have been hard at work carving a space for myself in education in Central Alberta. I am an English and sometimes History instructor at Red Deer Polytechnic. Before that, I had the privilege of teaching English language to refugees and newcomers in Red Deer. Each day I am humbled by the human capacity for resilience, joy, curiosity and kindness.
My research interests include medieval medicine, folded almanac manuscripts, astro-medicine, and medieval ontology. Basically those are fancy words for saying I like the part where they made people bleed, or didn't, depending on the moonlight.
I communicate using humour, believe in learner-centred teaching, and prefer to do my work outside the ivory tower, although I do enjoy the shade it casts on particularly hot days.
I also make stuff.