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» Go to news mainQ and A with Alison Brown: The twists and turns which led her to Information Science
Tell me a bit about yourself.
My home is a really small town in New Brunswick. I have five siblings. I'm the eldest.
Like many, my path to teaching here was not a straight one. Teaching at a university was never the plan! I went to Queens and did my undergrad decades(!) ago. I then spent a few years working in Tanzania, Kenya, Thailand, and the UK with a variety of children’s and women’s rights projects.
I returned to Canada and was pretty sure my life would be built in Vancouver, working in community-led journalism and advocacy. But then my mom got sick. All of my siblings were able to go home and spend that last year with her. What a gift.
My partner and I had lots of adventures with our kids when they were smaller–part of building an elementary school in Toronto focused on social justice, living in Costa Rica exploring tide pools and helping protect sea turtles.
What brought you back to academics?
I grew up surrounded by books, and the kids and I spent countless days at the public library wherever we were. I wanted to cultivate a love of reading and greater access to beautiful books with others. When our kids and I all felt ready to return to school, I was pretty sure being a children’s librarian would be a perfect “next thing.” I decided to go to Dal, to be close to New Brunswick and home.
Entering the MLIS program, I had one idea but then was presented with new and interesting opportunities. I did a thesis looking at the impact of a mother-child reading program for families experiencing maternal incarceration. This led to a renewed interest in gathering stories through research. I got a job working at the Early Childhood Collaborative Research Centre at the Mount as a research programs manager where I learned so much from the fabulous director.
When an opportunity came up to teach the Community-Led Services course within the MI program here at Dal, I didn’t hesitate. That course led to more teaching and the decision to do my PhD.
What is something your students might not know about you?
I will say I'm pretty open with students and that's something that I'm very intentional about. I often draw on the variety of experiences I’ve had to illustrate a concept. As with all things, I think teaching is about relationships and in order to be genuine in a relationship, I need to be candid about my day. I want students to feel able to be genuine and open as well, whatever that means for them.
Something they might not know… Before most of them were born, I hitchhiked from Tanzania to South Africa with a group of 3 friends. In Zimbabwe I was gifted the most beautiful–and most heavy (nearly 30 pound)–soapstone sculpture. This was not ideal weight for a backpacker but it grounded me then, and grounds me now in what matters.
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