April 20 ,2006, SIS
On the invitation of Professor Yin Qiping, Vice Dean of SIS and Director of Institution of English literature, Professor David Staines,
a well-known Canadian scholar paid a visit to Zhejiang University. During his stay in ZJU from April 16 to April 20, he gave two
fascinating lectures in SIS.
Prof. Staines got his PHD from Harvard University and taught at Harvard University, Amherst College, Smith College and
University of Ottawa in succession. He is specialized in Canadian literature, comparative literature and comparative culture.
He is a favorite student of Northrop Frye, the founder of Archetypal Criticism. As a well-known scholar, Prof. Staines is a prolific
author and he has received awards from Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Maple Leaf Foundation and many other societies.
In addition, Prof. Staines has been a chief editor for 20 years, in charge of the editing work of the collections of Canadian
literature classics, which includes hundreds of literary books published by the New Canadian Library. The collection is the
most influential masterpieces among publications of this kind in Canada.
The two lectures gave by Prof. Staines were on “Approaching Canadian Literature” and “Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town
and Its Legacy” respectively. His lectures opened a door to Canadian literature for us. We approached to it and attained a better
understanding of the four well-known Canadian short novelists. Further more, we kept ourselves better informed of the mode
of short stories, which got its origin in Stephen Leacock’s short novel: Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town. We also learned
a lot from Prof. Staines’ easygoing character, versatility and his sense of humor. There was a heated discussion after the lecture.
The audience was active in raising questions and expressing their ideas. The audience benefited a lot from both lectures, which
offered them an opportunity to interact with the scholar and to broaden their horizons.
