Assistant Professor
Inuit literature and language, mythology, culture and history; colonialism and post-colonialism, in particular how Inuit have been affected by explorer and settler contact and ways in which they have resisted; Irish language (Gaelic) and literature and the creation of an Irish national and literary identity; Shakespeare and Elizabethan drama and the making of central and regional community; Education for adults, especially with regard to the history of contact between Canada's First Nations and Inuit; making and shaping identities, personal, regional and national and in particular the work of Franz Fanon; collaborative research, and finding ways and means of defining the positionality of the partners in order to distance the voice of the researcher.
E-mail: nm80@queensu.ca
Phone: 613-533-2072
Office: TBA
Office hours: TBA
Education
Ph. D. in Cultural Studies, Queen’s University, 2015
M. Phil. in Renaissance Drama, University of Waterloo, 1979
M.A. in Shakespeare Studies, University of Birmingham, UK, 1978
B. A. in English, University of London, UK,1973
Diploma in Education. University of Manchester, UK, 1967
About
Professor McDermott has extensive experience in teaching Inuktitut and English. He lived and taught in Nunavut for 35 years as a classroom teacher, school principal and lecturer in the teacher training program at Nunavut Arctic College. He has held Teaching Appointments at many other educational institutions, including McGill University, Trent University, the University of Waterloo, Ontario as well as at the Sami University in Kautokeino, Norway. He joined the Department in the fall of 2011. His Inuktitut course covers the history and culture of the Inuit with particular emphasis on their language, Inuktitut, both written and spoken.
Doctor McDermott is the author of the following: Unikkaaqtuat: Traditional Inuit Stories; and Akinirmut Unipkaaqtuat: Stories of Revenge. He co-edited and wrote the introduction and notes for Unikkaaqtuat: An Introduction to Inuit Myths and Legends, and edited James Arvaluk: That's My Vision: Life Stories of Northern Leaders. Forthcoming, is the Life of David Serkoak. He has also written articles on Inuit literature, teacher education, and cultural identity.
Professor McDermott believes that teaching and learning together constitute an interactive process involving dialogue and participation between teacher and student. His classes therefore, are characterized by lively discussion, interchange of opinion and ideas and serious but not solemn application. His approach to research is one of collaboration, especially when one is attempting to engage with cultures and languages very different from one’s own.
Teaching
In 2015-16, Professor McDermott will be teaching following courses:
LLCU 101: Beginning Language and Culture I: Inuktitut I