March 11, 2005
New Directions for Weissman
Center -
A Q&A with Lois Brown
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Lois
Brown |
Lois
Brown, associate professor of English, has recently joined
the Weissman Center for Leadership and the Liberal Arts as
codirector. Brown replaces Chris Benfey, Mellon Professor
of English, who served as codirector for four years with
Karen Remmler, professor of German studies.
Brown graduated
from Duke University with a B.A. in English and earned her
Ph.D. in English from Boston College. Since coming to Mount
Holyoke in 1998, Brown, who received a College Distinguished
Teaching Award in April 2004, has taught courses in English
and the programs in American and African studies, American
studies, and Women’s studies. Brown spoke with College
Street Journal reporter Mickey Rathbun last week about her
work at Mount Holyoke and her ambitions for the Weissman Center.
What
has it been like to teach at a small liberal arts college
like Mount Holyoke?
Wonderful. I very much appreciate the emphasis on teaching and scholarship
here at Mount Holyoke. I have welcomed the opportunity to work closely with
students and to be part of a faculty committed to introducing students to substantial
materials, to generating meaningful and inspired writing, and to immersing
ourselves regularly in lively and illuminating discussions.
How
has your own scholarship benefited from your time here at the
College?
My scholarship on nineteenth-century American literature and, in particular,
on the literary culture of colonial and antebellum New England, certainly informs
my teaching. The steady support from colleagues and also from the dean of faculty
has made it possible to combine successfully my teaching and my research. As
a professor here, I’m also within easy reach of archives that are vital
to my work. My recent projects include a literary biography of Pauline Hopkins,
a turn-of-the-twentieth-century writer, editor, playwright, feminist—an
amazingly accomplished woman. In the course of researching that book, I discovered
the first biography of an African American, titled Memoir of James Jackson.
It was published in 1835 by a Boston schoolteacher named Susan Paul, an ancestor
of Pauline Hopkins. In 2000, Harvard University Press published the first modern
edition of Paul’s work, and that book project continues to shape my growing
interest in early American religious, educational, and memorial literature
for and about children.
What
attracted you to the job at the Weissman Center?
The center reflects the intellectual curiosity and the potential of students
and faculty. It has evolved into an important forum, one in which the College
community is able to think seriously about important and provocative subjects.
Karen and Chris’s vision for the center has enriched many of the conversations
that we all have had in and beyond the classroom. We have been given the opportunity
to talk to some very reflective and purposeful thinkers, activists, and professionals.
I welcome the chance to build on this foundation of innovative programs, thoughtful
dialogues, and meaningful interactions with visionary and influential
figures.
How
do you define the mission of the Weissman Center?
The mission is multifaceted. The center aspires to honor the College’s
investment in meaningful intellectual debate and growth. Second, it strives
to provide opportunities for members of the MHC community to grapple with sobering
and compelling issues of the day. Third, it is dedicated to creating opportunities
for students to articulate and to refine their own intellectual, political,
and social goals. And, finally, it is committed to maintaining a tradition
of stunning, innovative, and substantial programming that rejuvenates us and
motivates all of us to do more in the fields that we love.
What
are some of the programs you have in mind for next year?
I have two main ideas. The first I think of as “Law and (Dis)Order.” I
am inspired by the incredible activity in the world of law and the long-lasting
implications of current judicial rulings and initiatives. For example, we are
in the midst of heated debate about the extent, value, and danger of judicial
autonomy. The Supreme Court recently struck down the federal sentencing guidelines
[legislation enacted in 1988 that sharply limited federal judges’ discretion
in sentencing criminals]. This program will allow us to consider together with
activists, historians, and public intellectuals the ways in which law contributes
to notions of social order and also to civic disorder. We also have the opportunity
now to think more about how our concepts of freedom are defined, confirmed,
and even curtailed by the law. I also am interested in the way that unlikely
individuals can spark conversations about illegality and injustice and initiate
long-overdue fair judgments.
The second program in the works for next year is titled “Acts of Reconstruction.” Like
the law programming, this too will be interdisciplinary and multifaceted. There
are many ways to interpret and apply the notion of reconstruction. It entails
the rebuilding of nations in the wake of political upheaval and the civil wars
and ethnic conflict that we have witnessed in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Eritrea,
and Rwanda. Reconstruction also applies to the massive rebuilding that must
occur in the wake of natural disasters such as the recent tsunami that devastated
Indonesia, parts of Somalia, and other nations in Southeast Asia. I hope that
this program will include conversations about the life-sustaining acts of reconstruction,
as well as the implications that such acts have on private and public, honorable
and questionable agendas to ensure stability, growth, and change in communities,
nations, and the world.
Do
you anticipate coordination between the Weissman Center and
the Center for Global Initiatives?
There is definitely opportunity for complementary programming, and there already
have been successful cosponsored programs. More are on the horizon as well,
such as the upcoming April 1 Water Matters symposium session on the political,
social, and cultural dimensions of the world’s rivers.
How
do the Weissman Center’s Speaking, Arguing, and Writing
(SAW) Program and Community-Based Learning (CBL) Program relate
to the center as a whole?
Both SAW and CBL are flourishing. The SAW program is meeting a wide range of
student and faculty needs. SAW contributes much to the College-wide focus on
writing across the disciplines. Susan Pliner [director of SAW], Julia Jean
[acting director of SAW], and the SAW staff provide essential support to students
and faculty through the wide range of workshops and the focused attention to
the projects and issues that enhance faculty-student ventures in the classroom.
Like SAW, CBL has been dedicated to strengthening ties between students, faculty,
and our neighboring communities. Preston Smith [associate professor of politics
and director of CBL] also oversees CBL mentoring and has established welcome
CBL training and support programs for faculty.
How
do you see the role of students at the Weissman Center?
Since its inception, the Weissman Center has focused on students and has tried
to generate programs relevant to their academic interests and to their all-around
development. Students have taken advantage of small-group mini-seminars with
speakers and have initiated important panels and conferences also. I hope to
contribute further to this tradition of strong student participation and to
get students even more deliberately involved in programming initiatives. I
look forward to learning more about the issues that students want to see addressed
and the individuals with whom they want to be in conversation. Students who
work at the center, including administrative assistants, work-study students,
and writing assistants and mentors, are incredibly generous, thoughtful young
women who really embrace the mission of the center. They and their fellow Mount
Holyoke peers regularly pose good questions, are willing to discuss their perspectives,
and are key participants in our College-wide campaign to create and to maintain
meaningful engagement with the world.
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