FIMS’ AMANDA GRZYB INSPIRES HER STUDENTS TO TAKE A STAND
By Allison Buchan-Terrell
The Gazette, Montreal, Canada
May 18 2006
The Faculty of Information and Media Studies is among the most unique
and diverse on campus, and FIMS professor Amanda Grzyb epitomizes
that very distinctiveness.
Grzyb began teaching at Western in 2002 and was also a student there
in the past; she completed a BA in Philosophy and English and her MA
in Theory Criticism at Western before earning a PhD in English from
Duke University.
For the past few years Grzyb worked on part-time contracts at Western
while starting a family. She refers fondly to the mentors who helped
her along her career path.
“I had the opportunity to learn from several outstanding teachers and
mentors throughout my academic career, which provided a model for my
own teaching.
“At Western, Jim Leach [in the Department of Philosophy] and Marty
Kreiswirth [in the Department of English] were both particularly
inspiring mentors,” Grzyb says.
“Ideally, I try to assist students as they make connections between
what they are learning in the classroom and the world around them,”
Grzyb says. “My classes are equal parts lecture and discussion, and
I encourage the students to become actively engaged in conversations
with their fellow students inside and outside the classroom.
“When it is appropriate, I also encourage students to combine creative
approaches to research with traditional, rigorous study.”
Grzyb also strongly emphasizes resources outside of traditional
studies.
“I also like to utilize the resources that we have in the community.
My class on homelessness includes a service-learning component –
two hours a week at a local homeless shelter – and the shelters where
the students volunteer are community partners in learning.”
She not only ensures her students learn outside the classroom, she
even takes them out of the country.
“Last fall I took my students in Film 214F: African-American Cinema
on a field trip to Detroit, where we visited the African-American
History Museum and ate traditional African-American food,” Grzyb says.
She also draws on guest lecturers in her teaching.
“In my genocide class, I brought in guest speakers like Maj. Brent
Beardsley (Romeo Dallaire’s Staff Assistant during the UNAMIR mission
in Rwanda and a witness to the Rwandan genocide), Prof. Eugene
Nshimiyimana (a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide), and Prof. Lorne
Shirinian (a specialist on the Armenian genocide from Royal Military
College).”
Grzyb believes the key to success is making a connection with her
students.
“I encourage students to meet with me during office hours and to be
actively engaged in discussions [in class and online],” she says,
adding, “I generally teach upper-level classes where I am able to
get to know my students individually.
“I love the MIT students because they are keen to get involved in
the community,” Grzyb says. “One of my students, Andrew deWaard,
made a wonderful documentary film about homeless youth in London
while he was taking my homelessness class. And the students in my
winter 2005 ‘Century of Genocide’ class organized a teach-in about
the humanitarian crisis in Darfur on our last day of class.”
She explains that one of her students, Jonathan Laski, became highly
involved with STAND (Students Taking Action Now: Darfur) as a result
of the class.
“He met with Prime Minister Paul Martin shortly after the class
ended and spoke with him about the situation in Darfur for about 45
minutes. These students are the sort of people who inspire me and
make me proud to teach at Western,” Grzyb says.
Her students have been equally inspired.
“Inspiring would be an understatement. Mandy has a genuine gift for
making the material real and imparting her students with a lasting
desire to create positive change in the community,” says deWaard,
currently in his fourth year. “By combining engaging lecture material
with out-of-class service-learning, Mandy makes the all-important
bridge between theoretical and practical knowledge.”
Kristin Moriah, an MA student at McGill University and former Western
student, says Gryzb “is one of about two or three professors who have
had a significant impact on my life.
“I was also impressed with the way Amanda is engaged with social
issues. She not only talks the talk, she walks the walk,” Moriah
says. “It’s exciting to see someone who is able to bridge the gap
between the Ivory Tower and life beyond the university campus. I know
that many of her other students feel the same way.”
After four years teaching in FIMS at Western, Grzyb has made an
impression on the faculty, recently winning an award for excellence
in teaching undergraduate students. She has also accepted a full-time
position for the fall. On top of her new status at Western and her
new baby girl Lucy, Grzyb will co-edit an anthology on the crisis in
Darfur with colleague Rich Hitchens.