Service
Public and Professional Activities
Although service in the university context sometimes erroneously is considered to be the poor cousin of higher profile activities such as teaching and research, not only is service what makes the academic world go round but it is also an activity that, as Northrop Frye suggested of ordinary textual criticism in contrast to loftier philosophy or aesthetics, can remind literary scholars of the core aims and motivations of their vocation. In my service to the University of Victoria, to my scholarly field, and to the broader community, I have tried to keep in mind that service is a mode of demonstrating the highest values of generosity, conscientiousness and caring in public and university contexts. It is also a sphere in which collegial and supportive relations between individuals most often are manifested concretely. I have learned, as well, that beyond its fulfillment as a professional necessity and psychological need, service is rarely altruistic in a sacrificial sense, for it is also a means of creating opportunities for oneself among satisfied associates understandably willing to vest new responsibilities in a trusted collaborator. My community and professional service has taken a variety of forms, some of which I present below. 
Victoria International Jewish Film Festival
I became the Director of the Victoria International Jewish Film Festival in 2017, after two years of serving as its programmer. With the Festival jury, I have reviewed more than a hundred Jewish-themed films every year for the Festival, which takes place in mid-November over four days. The Festival, which is sponsored by the Jewish Community Centre of Victoria, brings to Victoria a diverse range of international films on Jewish topics with the aim of enriching audiences' understanding of Jewish culture. 
English Department Committees
I supervised the English Department's website redesign in 2007, which was a large and successful undertaking. The new website, which I have administered since then, incorporates many advanced features, such as the ability for faculty members and graduate students to log into and edit their own personal pages, dynamically generated course pages, an RSS news feed, and a custom browser-based CMS interface. I have also served in various capacities on the Department's Equity, Visiting Speakers, Library, Graduate, and Research, Tenure and Promotion (RPT) Committees, and I regularly evaluate graduate students' French translation exams. 
University Committees
I served a 2-year term as the Faculty of Graduate Studies representative to the Senate Committee on Academic Standards (2011-2013). Major issues included revising the University's Policy on Academic Integrity, devising a new registration designation for no-fault withdrawals, and oversight of the transition to percentage grading. 
Postcolonial Text
I was a section editor responsible for subject areas related to the Caribbean and Middle East, among others, for the online, open-access academic journal Postcolonial Text from 2012–2016. For the journal, I was responsible for the evaluation, review and editing of a range of article submissions under the founder and past editor-in-chief, Ranjini Mendis, and her successor, Chantal Zabus. 
Vancouver Jewish Film Festival
Since 2015, I have served as a member of the film jury for the Vancouver Jewish Film Festival. The Festival annually presents some two dozen new films from around the world on topics related to Jewish identity and culture. 
Caribbean Studies Association
I chaired a four-member special Presidential Task Force of the Caribbean Studies Association in 2011-12. The Committee was responsible for investigating communications technology for the Association and presenting a written final report and recommendations. For my work, I was awarded the Presidential Award for Outstanding Leadership and Service by president Holger Henke.  First-Year Writing Classes @ UVic
Student Videos
I supervised the production of four English Department outreach videos directed by a student, Jeremy Petter, and a former student, Liam Sherriff. Three are informational videos — humorous "movie trailers" for the Department's academic writing courses — and the last is a history of the Department from its inception in the 1950s. You can watch these and other related videos on the English Department's YouTube channel. Or, click on the images at left and below.
Peer Reviews
I have written anonymous peer reviews of article submissions for Green Letters, Postcolonial Text, Modern Intellectual History, Animation, Comparative Literature, and for the student journal, The Arbutus Review, as well as a book manuscript for Palgrave Macmillan. 
If Not Now, When?
I co-founded and serve as a principal organizer of If Not Now, When?, a Victoria-based activist organization advocating on behalf of Canadian Jews who seek just and peaceful alternatives to the violent conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. 
Jewish Voice for Peace
I was a founding member and leader, for four years, of Jewish Voice for Peace, a Jewish peace and human rights organization that concerns itself primarily with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The organization started as a living-room group and has grown, since its founding in 1996, into the largest grass-roots organization of its kind in North America. I continue to be active in supporting Jewsh Voice for Peace campaigns. 
Congregation Emanu-El
I am a past member of the board of directors of Congregation Emanu-El, the oldest synagogue in continuous operation in Canada. I designed and maintain the congregation's website and I chair its Online Media committee. My family and I attend services and events regularly. 
Human Rights DocFest
I was a juror for the 2009 Human Rights DocFest, presented by Journalists for Human Rights in partnership with the National Film Board of Canada's (NFB) online initiative Citizenshift and Dab Gallery of Victoria. 
Jewish Peace News
I was the founder and a co-editor, from 2000-2011, with six other academics and activists, of Jewish Peace News, an online blog and news commentary distribution-list that was initially a project of Jewish Voice for Peace and later operated independently. 
Infant Plus Daycare Centre
I designed and administer the website for Infant Plus Daycare Centre, which is run by the non-profit James Bay Child Care Society. I am the past vice president of the Society's Board of Directors and I sit on the Expansion Committee. |
