Michael Van听Dussen,听Professor in the Department of English听and Samuele听Collu,听Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology,听are this year's听recipients of the听H. Noel Fieldhouse Award for Distinguished Teaching, an听annual听award听that听recognizes outstanding undergraduate teaching in the Faculty of Arts.听听
鈥淭eaching and supervision at 成人VR视频, at all levels, is a听remarkably听rewarding experience.听I've听always felt听honoured听to work with such excellent and engaged students and to be part of their academic growth,鈥� says Professor Van Dussen. 鈥淭o receive this award and to read the comments that were听submitted听in support of my nomination was tremendously gratifying. I take听great pride听in the many successes of my students over the years.鈥澨�
Van Dussen, an听Associate Member of 成人VR视频鈥檚 School of Religious Studies,听is a scholar听and teacher听of听late听medieval literature. In his award citation, Van Dussen has been credited with giving听each and听every听one听of his students听two gifts, 鈥渄escribed by one student as 鈥榗uriosity and confidence鈥�- a confidence that allows them to be curious, a confidence that allows them to ask hard questions and think them through rigorously.鈥澨�
One of听Professor Van Dussen鈥檚听favourite听parts听about teaching Middle English literature听and the history of the medieval millennium听at 成人VR视频听is its potential for surprise.听听
鈥淢any students register for my classes because they already share an interest in the period, but most come to the material with skepticism, wariness, and years of loaded assumptions (many of them negative) about the Middle Ages,鈥� says Van Dussen.听鈥淪o听when they see an author from the fifteenth century grappling with anything from metaphysics to mental health in sensitive and nuanced ways鈥攁nd in an earlier form of the English language鈥攖his defies their expectations.鈥澨�
鈥淢any of my top supervisees on the undergraduate and graduate levels first experienced medieval literature this way,鈥� he adds. 鈥淭hey've had 鈥榓wakenings鈥� as they recognized a discrepancy between what they expected and what they听actually found. This happens every semester, and听I'll听never get enough of it. Realizations like these show the potential for the literature of early periods, and听the Humanities听more generally, to bring students to understand their place in the richness of human history and experience.鈥澨�
Over the years, Van Dussen says his students have taught him that听he鈥檚听not just teaching a subject, but collaborating with them as they become more independent, resourceful, and听curious听thinkers, researchers, and humans.听听
Dr. Samuele Collu听
Full citation for 2026 H. Noel Fieldhouse Award:听
鈥淚n his classrooms, Professor Samuele Collu creatively听facilitates听what in other subfields might be called 鈥渉ands-on鈥� learning activities that deeply challenge students, and they love it. He teaches听students听new听modes听of thinking. He makes them think about both how they learn and how they听might听learn. His policy of banning all screens in class might seem to be more likely to alienate rather than endear students. But no, he uses it to provide a transformative educational experience. He uses听humour, leads mindfulness meditations, and听facilitates听open discussions of what students might have wanted to do with their devices during course time to help students听think听about any device detachment anxiety they might feel. Samuele Collu鈥檚 teaching is successful because he applies his research on affect in real time, carefully curating better classroom environments and novel experiences and perspectives for his students. As one student wrote: 鈥淚 truly wish everyone could experience this class because everyone I know who has taken it has left with major epiphanies on their own personal and academic lives.鈥澨�
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