Inside the TMU classroom: Get to know English professor Dr. Naomi Hamer
Fun fact: Dr. Hamer can tap dance!
Before I entered my first semester of the English program, I remember feeling really eager to meet my professors. That’s why I sat down with Dr. Naomi Hamer, an associate professor and the department chair of English at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), to help future students learn more about the classroom experience.
With a focus on picture books and digital cultures, Dr. Hamer’s research examines cross-media adaptations of children’s literature.
During our conversation, she highlighted some of the exciting experiential learning opportunities, course offerings and post-grad supports that are available for English students.
Read on to explore what she had to say.
Claire: Why do you think students should study English at TMU?
Naomi: The English department aims to make community connections through program events and the curriculum itself. We try to bring in lots of different poets, writers and other members of the literary community for our students. These practical applications are one of the many threads of our program, and it exists within our Literatures of Modernity master’s program as well. Studying English at TMU offers students an immediate connection to a city environment and all of the things that a city brings—especially the people. Thanks to our location, we’ve had some really amazing guest speakers visit our classes.
The wide range of interdisciplinary research backgrounds of our faculty members is also what makes our English department unique. We have professors like Dr. Craig Jennex, who researches queer music histories. There’s also Dr. Colleen Derkatch, who studies rhetoric. Other research areas of our faculty include modernist literature, comics, oral histories and many others. These diverse research areas make our program a particularly rich and distinct type of English program that really stands out from other universities.
C: What’s the advantage of studying English in the heart of downtown Toronto?
N: I think there’s a big appeal to being part of a downtown campus. In many ways, studying English in Toronto allows students to build connections with different parts of the city, which are great learning opportunities. I often take my students to the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books (external link, opens in new window) on College Street. This is located within walking distance from TMU and features an amazing library of rare books. They also have a sci-fi collection that’s pretty amazing, too.
I’ve also taken students to The Image Centre (external link, opens in new window) , which offers incredible photography collections and exhibits, and is located right here on campus. People come from all over the city to visit the gallery, and it’s a great advantage to have it so close by.
I just think there’s something so great about being within walking distance of the downtown core. Students aren't removed from the rest of the city, which really adds to the student experience.
When I took ENG 910 with Dr. Hamer last semester, author Keisha Cuffie visited our class as a guest speaker.
C: What are some experiential learning opportunities that are available for English students?
N: We have many! Alongside the co-op program and practicum experiences that are offered for both undergraduate and graduate students, we have the White Wall Review (external link, opens in new window) , which is a literary publication that features fiction, non-fiction, poetry and other literary genres. This is a publication that is operated by faculty members and current students. Through courses, research assistantships or practicum positions, students can assist with the creation of this literary journal in many ways. Dr. Lauren Kirshner and Dr. Sarah Henstra, who are both amazing faculty members and published writers themselves, oversee all of the students who assist with the publication. It’s also open-call, so students can read submissions and work with writers from all over the world.
We also have the Centre for Digital Humanities (CDH) and the Modern Literature and Culture Research Centre (MLC) (opens in new window) , which are two research centres that offer undergraduate students the unique opportunity to work as research assistants. There aren’t many research assistant opportunities for undergraduate students, so this is a great way for students to gain professional research experience while they’re still completing their undergrad. We’d like to offer more of these positions in the future too.
Finally, there’s lots of experiential learning opportunities within the courses themselves! A lot of our courses are practicum or open-topic, which promotes practical learning. For example, ENG 810: Approaches to English Research allows students to explore on and off-campus archives as they create their own digital research exhibits.
C: How does TMU’s English program prepare students for their path after graduation?
N: I think a lot of high school students and their parents have questions about what you can do with an English degree as opposed to other disciplines. It feels like a cliché since we say it so often, but it’s genuinely true—there are so many ways to communicate in today’s world.
English, especially through the way that it's taught at TMU, provides you with an opportunity to learn how to communicate well. You have to be able to know how to articulate yourself and deliver an argument efficiently, and TMU teaches students exactly how to do that. The definition of “text” has also evolved, so studying English doesn’t always mean that you’re studying literature. Through our diverse range of courses, we look at all sorts of digital, visual and oral forms of storytelling.
With the enhancement of AI, it’s so important to learn how to decipher what information is right and wrong. It’s also important to know how to critique news sources and develop your own opinions, and our English program finds a space in that.
Dr. Hamer at a Peanuts museum exhibit.
C: What’s your favourite course that you’ve taught at TMU and what should students expect when in your classroom?
N: I really enjoy teaching ENG 910: English Capstone Seminar.
Capstone courses are relatively smaller, so students and professors can collaborate with each other one-on-one.
Students can also bring their own unique research interests into the course, which teaches them how to brainstorm effectively and develop a project over the course of a semester. So, students can expect to have the freedom to research what interests them the most.
When I taught an earlier version of ENG 910, children’s museums was our course topic. This course played a big role in the development of my e-book, Curating the Story Museum (external link, opens in new window) , which features input from students who took the seminar over a couple of years. If they were interested, students could write and edit a review, which was then published in the e-book.
We now have a really wide range of exhibit reviews and proposals for future children’s exhibits that were produced by former students in the course.
Dr. Hamer’s e-book explores childhood and children’s agency in museums, offering tools for postgraduate educators.
A big thank you to Dr. Hamer for chatting with me! As Dr. Hamer noted, our professors are here to support your unique interests and goals, so don’t be intimidated—they’ll be with you every step of your university journey.
If you’re interested in exploring humanities and social sciences programs beyond English, make sure to take a look at all of the other amazing programs in the Faculty of Arts that are available to you!
Until next time,
Claire
