Jan Lermitte

Biography

Jan Lermitte teaches first year English and Writing at Trinity Western University.  She also teaches in the TWU Extension program at TWU Richmond.  Her varied background in Business Communication and Education have also provided her with opportunities to teach in the Applied Science program (Engineering) at UBC.  Jan sees education as a transformative experience.  Her  approach emphasizes life-long learning and an interdisciplinary approach that invites exploration of the relationship between literature and the arts.  She has a passion for excellence, and for teaching the mastery of writing skills, critical thinking, and personal responsibility for final results.

Research Interest

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.  Closely related are texts written by, or about, those who have been previously elided or ignored in Canadian literature, such as women (especially artists) on the home front during WWI and II, as well as Asian-Canadian and First Nations citizens. Current Research is on the topic of representations of nurses, and depictions of faith in Canadian World War I literature. Jan is also interested in Cognitive Poetics as an approach to literary analysis.  She examines contemporary North American texts using frame evocation and cognitive integration (or blending) theory.