Friday, 25th November,
2011:
The Paro College of Education has
always been fortunate to have
international support from countries
all over the world. Our belief in
an educational system
based on partnership and knowledge
exchange has formed the cornerstone
for many such international
collaborations.
We have with us this Autumn
Semester,
Visiting Fulbright Professor
Dr. Gretchen Legler,
from the United States who will be
hosted in the college
from Oct. 12, 2011 to June 30, 2012.
Dr.
Legler’s time in Bhutan is sponsored
by the United States Fulbright
Foundation, a programme administered
by the U.S. State Department with
the goal of furthering international
peace and cultural understanding via
the international exchange of
students, researchers and scholars.
Those interested can learn more
about Fulbright here:
http://www.cies.org/.
Here is a sneak peak into her
professional life and also a glimpse
into what drives her professionally:
Dr. Legler is a Full Professor at
the University of Maine
Farmington, in Farmington, Maine,
USA, where she has been teaching
for more than 11 years. Earlier, she
was a professor for 6 years in the
Master of Fine Arts Programme at the
University of Alaska, Anchorage,
USA. In her home university she
teaches literary nonfiction in the
Bachelor of Fine Arts Programme in
Creative Writing. She also teaches
courses in literature, gender
studies, environmental writing, and
college writing.
Dr. Legler has a Ph.D. in English
and Feminist Studies from the
University of Minnesota (USA); a
Master’s Degree in English/Creative
and Professional Writing from the
University of Minnesota, and a
Bachelor’s Degree in Political
Science and Journalism from
Macalester College, in St. Paul,
Minnesota. She has also studied
Political Philosophy and British
Literature at Cambridge
University, UK; and Australian
Literature and History at the
University of New England, Armidale,
Australia.
Dr. Legler’s research interests and
publications are in the areas of
American nature writing,
environmental writing, eco-feminism,
and the literature of Antarctica.
She is the author of two books of
literary nonfiction, and numerous
works of literary criticism, essays,
and articles which have been
published in scholarly journals and
literary magazines in the US and
abroad. She has two websites: one
for creative writing (www.gretchenlegler.com)
and one for her teaching and
academic work (http://faculty.umf.maine.edu/gretchen.legler)
According to Dr. Legler, at the Paro
College of Education she has had
“the great privilege of working with
PCE faculty in the Learning Center,
offering on-site workshops in
academic skills, college writing,
and research, as well as assisting
students and faculty on a walk-in
basis.” In addition to her
teaching, part of her Fulbright
Fellowship activities involve
research for a work of literary
nonfiction about Bhutan which
explore, among many things, the
Bhutanese concept of Gross National
Happiness. Her research involves
reading “Bhutanese literature,
history, and texts on GNH, talking
to people, making friends,
experiencing Bhutan through travel,
food, culture, art and especially
Buddhism—in other words—EVERYTHING!”
In a nutshell Dr. Legler looks
“forward to a wonderful and exciting
eight more months in Bhutan!”
