by Christine Song
Have you noticed a petite young woman with strikingly red hair appearing around campus recently? You may have caught sight of her around our Liberal Arts Building or the Language Center. It is possible you have taken her for just another foreign student studying Chinese on our campus. Well, she is. But I bet you wouldn’t know that she is also an expert in Renaissance Bibles and early modern english literature, or that her resume boasts six different academic degrees! Meet Vivienne Westbrook, a new scholar flown in from England only a month ago – and the newest member of the DFLL staff. A native of Manchester, Dr. Westbrook completed all of her studies in her hometown. As a recipient of the prestigious British Academy Scholarship, she received her Ph.D. degree from the University of Manchester in 1998 for her work in neglected Renaissance Bible translations. Prior to this, Dr. Westbrook earned a Master’s degree with a thesis on the evolution of English Bible annotation. And as if that weren’t already an accomplishment in itself, she wrote the 70,000-word paper in a mere seven months! But after two hours of interviewing this incredible lady, I found that this was only one act among the many “superhuman” feats she has managed to achieve! For example, after giving up a full-time job to go back to school, she wrapped up a 3-year undergraduate English Literature program in only one year. What’s more, she completed her Ph.D. thesis six months ahead of schedule, a period which she spent at the Univeristy of Notre Dame, in the U.S., taking three high-level theory courses. During all this she never stopped working part-time to support herself, by editing or teaching. She chuckles when I marvel at her achievements, “Maybe I’ll just die early from exhaustion.” Oh, and by the way she somehow managed to squeeze in getting married as well! Professor Westbrook is currently teaching Milton, English Renaissance Bible and Literature, and Academic Writing – all offered in the M.A./Ph.d. program. She believes that since lecturing is one of the least effective ways of teaching, when compared to active participation, her classes are more discussion-inclined than lecture-oriented. She explains that this is not just her “homespun idea” but an approach based on a theory that she has studied in her second Master’s program (Educational Psychology) and explored in her thesis: “Metacognition and Strategic Learning in Higher Education.” As cognition is the way the brain acquires knowledge, meta-cognition is being “aware of one’s own learning process in order to optimize learning.” In her Academic Writing course, for instance, students are encouraged to be each other’s colleagues – to make and accept commentary on each other’s work, to ponder how they digest information. Dr. Westbrook points out that she is quite impressed by our students’ reactions in class (although she also seemed a little puzzled by the overwhelmingly even distribution of American accents). She observes, “American Universities provide good training for academic debate, and students participate fully in class discussion, and English students are much more reticent in class than students in Taiwan.” When asked about life in Taiwan, Dr. Westbrook says language is the primary obstacle to adjusting thoroughly. Not being able to recognize road signs or postings can be unnerving, after all, especially for someone who is “used to being in control.” Nevertheless, she is eager to discover what Taiwan has to offer – food, Chinese opera, temples, etc. She is an avid fan of Mainland director Zhang Yi-Mou’s film and hopes to learn more about Lee Ang. She remarks that Chinese directors make their movies beautiful, that “screen poetry,” as she eloquently puts it, is always present. The only cultural shock she has experienced so far is seeing people buying different flavors of “vinegar.” Incredulously, she says, “In England, vinegar is only used with chips (or french fries in American English). We don’t have bottles of it packaged for drinking purposes!” Sorry about the misunderstanding, Professor, but “vinegar” in Chinese happens to share the same character as “cider,” which is what you really saw. And finally, on behalf of the entire DFLL faculty, the Foreign Exchange extends a warm welcome to our new professor, wishing her the best in the coming year, and many more to come. Oh, and, before I sign off, just one more scoop. Guess where Dr. Westbrook’s first university degree came from? Would you believe it if I said the Business Program? a
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The Taida Student Journal has been active since 1995 with an ever-changing roster of student journalists at NTU. Click the above link to read about the authors Archives
May 2024
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