Eimer Page
ENGLISH
Hailing from James Joyce's turf, she encourages students to see the beauty in great works of literature.
B.A., Ph.D. Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland; M.A., Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Appointed 2004.

About Exeter:  "The faculty at Exeter is remarkable. Their enthusiasm for their disciplines is infectious, and can guide students toward a lifelong love affair with a subject." Page's own literary loves are postcolonial writers, Derek Walcott and V.S. Naipaul. 
 
On Harkness teaching: "The Harkness method trains students to articulate their thoughts, and provides a safe place to try new ideas."

Why I love teaching:  "Teaching forms a bridge between the past and the future. I love to be able to provide that pathway for students to make their own connections.  It is such a joy to see students' eyes light up when they encounter a great work of literature for the first time."
 
Favorite lesson:  "I teach a senior elective on Utopic and Dystopic fiction. It is such a vibrant genre that I can include new texts and authors each year." Students discuss texts by Huxley, Atwood, Orwell and others in an attempt to build their "own visionary galaxy." "It's fun to explore unfamiliar territory in the company of bright young minds."
 
Advice: "Exeter works if you are looking for a community with a passionate commitment to learning and listening."

Other hats: "I've played viola and violin since I was eight. My husband and I met while playing together in the Northern Ireland Symphony, and music drew us to America." Page's husband conducts with the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and is on the faculty of New England Conservatory. Page lives in a dorm with her family, including a young son who thinks it's wonderful to share a house with over 60 doting teenage girls, "though he can't understand where they go during vacations."

Word on the street: Page, who came to the U.S. in 2004 from Ireland, sports a lyrical Irish accent. Students try imitating her, often to humorous effect. "I view it as a form of flattery!"

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