Jan Lermitte, MA

Part-time Instructor of Leadership and English

Jan Lermitte teaches in the English and Creative Writing department at Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia and in the BA Leadership program for TWU GLOBAL. Her teaching and research focus on contemporary Canadian literary studies, with emphasis on depictions of Canadian involvement in WWI, especially by women and Indigenous Peoples. Her articles and reviews appear in journals such as Canadian Literature and international publications such as Transcanadiana: Polish Journal of Canadian Studies. Her recent research on Dorothy L. Sayers explores the relationship between gender, war, and the theology of work. Jan’s approach emphasizes life-long learning through an interdisciplinary exploration of literature and the arts.

  • MA, English (University of British Columbia)
    • Thesis Title: Returning to Vimy Ridge: Canada's Narrative of Battle and Remembrance. Supervisor: Sherrill Grace
  • BA, English (Trinity Western University)
Continuing Education:
  • Instructional Skills Workshop for Faculty: (UBC Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology; August 2015)
  • Indexing - An Essential Art and Science (Simon Fraser University; November 2011)
  • English 841: Unsettling the Settler Within: Truth, Reconciliation, and Aboriginal Rights in Canada -- Audited (Simon Fraser University; January 2011 - April 2011)
  • The Well-Trained English Tutor: Techniques for Effective and Ethical Tutoring (University of British Columbia; Fall 2010)

Expertise

Twentieth Century Canadian Literature, Culture and Drama, with particular attention to the topic of Vimy Ridge as an iconic subject in Canadian World War I literature, Writing and research, Indigenous Literatures, Dorothy L. Sayers, Leadership theory, Cognitive Poetics literary theory

Awards & Honours

  • Invited Reviewer: The Vimy Trap: or, How we Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Great War, 2016.
  • Invited Guest Lecturer and Facilitator on Contemporary Canadian War Plays:  Miscellaneous Productions, Vancouver, BC. (with Elaine Carol, Artistic Director),  November 30, 2014 and March 15, 2015.  Discussed two plays in the context of WWI and WWII:  Vimy by Vern Thiessen and Burning Vision by Marie Clements.
  • Royal Canadian Society Scholarship (Oct, 2008)

Recent Publications

BOOK CHAPTERS

  • “Dorothy L. Sayers: War, Women, and Work.” The Inklings and Culture: A Harvest of Scholarship from the Inklings Institute of Canada, edited by Monika Hilder, Sara Pearson, Laura Van Dyke, Cambridge UP, forthcoming.

JOURNAL ARTICLES

  • “The Call to Duty:  Representations of Canadian WWI Nurses in Contemporary Canadian Literature.”  Transcanadiana: Polish Journal of Canadian Studies. 2016. Forthcoming.
  •  “Doing the Vimy Glide:  Intersections of Landscape, Art and Memory in Vern Thiessen’s Vimy.” Caliban: French Journal of English Studies.  2015.

REVIEWS:

  • IN PRINT. “Poetry Museums.” Review of three Canadian poetry collections. Canadian Literature. 237. (2019): pp. 128-29.
  • IN PRINT. “Asian Occupations.” Review of Translation of Love; The Homes We Build on Ashes. Canadian Literature. 235. (Winter 2017): pp. 156-57.
  • Lermitte, Jan. “Myth and Memories.” Review of: Carole Giangrande’s Midsummer and Maggie Dominic’s Street Angel. Canadian Literature. 225. (Summer 2015): 135-136.
  • Lermitte, Jan. “War: Secrets and Loss.” Review of Keith Inman’s The War Poems: Screaming at Heaven; and Frances Itani’s Tell.  Canadian Literature. 223. (Winter 2014): 128-129. 
  • Lermitte, Jan. “Obsession Examined.” Review of Dennis Bock’s Going Home Again; and Claire Messud’s The Woman Upstairs. Canadian Literature. 223. (Winter 2014): 158-159.
  • Lermitte, Jan. “Regional Threats.”  Review of Theodora Armstrong’s Clear Skies, No Wind, 100% Visibility and Tim Bowling’s The Tinsmith. Canadian Literature. 221 (Summer 2014): 130-31.
  • Lermitte, Jan. ”Family, Place, History.” Review of five Canadian poetry collections.  Canadian Literature. 221 (Summer 2014): 151-52.
  • Lermitte, Jan. “Women, Work and War.”  Review of Glassford and Shaw’s A Sisterhood of Suffering and Service.  Canadian Literature. 218 (Autumn 2013): 161-62.
  • Lermitte, Jan. "A Young Woman Hungers." Review of Maggie de Vries’  Hunger Journeys.  Canadian Literature. 214 (Autumn 2012): 152-53.
  • Lermitte, Jan. "Truth Embedded in Fiction." Review of Johanna Skibsrud’s The Sentimentalists. Canadian Literature. 209 (Summer 2011): 179-80.
  • Lermitte, Jan. "Rebellious Causes". Review of Vern Thiessen’s Vimy; Vittorio Rossi’ Carmela's Table; and Stephen Masicott’s The Oxford Roof Climber's Rebellion. Canadian Literature. 201 (Summer 2009): 192-94.   

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

  • The Call to Duty: Representations of Canadian WWI Nurses in Contemporary Canadian Literature. Presentation at the 7th Congress of the Polish Association of Canadian Studies (PACS), Canada and War, University of Nicolaus Copernicus, Toruń, Poland (May 2016)
  • The Sentimentalists: Analysis of the Frame of Casablanca. Presentation at Literary Questions, Cognitive Methods, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; UBC Department of English and American Comparative Literature Association (March 2011).
  • Faith and Art, Frames and Anchors: Annie Dillard's Holy the Firm. Presentation at the 30th Annual Conference of the Poetics and Linguistics Association (PALA), The Language of Landscapes, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy (July 2010).
  • Doing the Vimy Glide: Interconnections of Art, Battle and Memory in Vern Thiessen's Vimy. Presentation for the Canadian Association for Theatre Research at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Montreal, QC, Canada (April 2010).
  • Anchors and Frames in Annie Dillard's Holy the Firm. Presentation for the Christianity and Literature Study Group (Affiliate of ACCUTE) at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Carleton University, Ottawa, ON, Canada (May 2009).
  • Warring with the Past: Jane Urquhart's The Stone Carvers as Historical Novel. Presentation at the North American Pacific Northwest Graduate Language and Literature Conference, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada (March 2009).

GUEST LECTURES:

  • Dorothy L. Sayers on Work: “The Thing One Lives to Do.” Sponsored event, Inklings Institute, Trinity Western University (January 30, 2020).
  • “Return to Vimy Ridge: A Century of Art, Myth and Memory.” Presentation at Nicholas Copernicus University, Toruń, Poland, and the University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland (June 3 and 5, 2019).
  • “Are Women Human?” Dorothy L. Sayers. Co-sponsored event, Inklings Institute and Gender Institute, Trinity Western University (January 22, 2019).

Affiliations & Memberships

  • Association of Canadian University and College Teachers of English (ACCUTE)
  • Christianity and Literature Study Group (CLSG)
  • Inklings Institute of Canada
  • Modern Language Association (MLA)

  • ENGL 103 Introduction to Fiction
  • ENGL 104 Introduction to Poetry & Drama
  • ENGL 290 Special Topics & Themes in English Literature: Indigenous Literatures
  • LDRS 301 Lifelong Learning Strategies in Leadership
  • WRTG 100 Writing in University Context