Q: Tell us a bit about your research.
A: I'm delighted to say that two projects have just reached completion, a special edition of the journal Method and Theory in the Study of Religion on Gender and the Study of Religion, for which I was guest editor, and a co-edited book (for which I co-wrote the introduction) entitled Telling Tales: Essays in Western Women's History. The latter is being published by UBC Press this spring, and is a collected volume of essays on western Canadian women's history. My current research project is in the area of religion and culture in Canada. Tentatively entitled "Canada's `Brave New World'? Race, Eugenics, and Social Reform in Alberta", I am investigating the support for eugenics legislation in Alberta, primarily in the 1920s and 30s. Here I am building on my prior work on Canadian social reformer and Christian feminist activist, Nellie L. McClung. 2. Your work is truly interdisciplinary. Are there particular challenges to treading these waters? Indeed! Let me give you a bit of background. As you can see from the answer to your first question, I work in at least two different areas in religious studies, namely, method and theory, and religious history. My background casts the net even further: I did an undergraduate degree in religion and literature, my master's degree was in philosopy of religion, and my doctoral work was in the area of religion and culture. My questions (many of them about gender construction) kept taking me in new directions, and I was fortunate to be able to pursue them. Eventually all this stuff went into my doctoral dissertation (and later book) on the Canadian feminist, Christian author and social activist, Nellie L. McClung, and I really did need all those skills to do her justice.

Q: What do you think is the greatest challenge facing our field today?
A: Along with my colleagues in Religious Studies, I am very concerned about the survival of Religious Studies Departments in Canadian universities. At a recent meeting of heads of departments at the Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities, I heard several stories about growing enrollment in Religious Studies courses and of exciting new initiatives. But there are also many stories of university administrations threatening to merge Religious Studies departments with other departments or close them altogether. Because of their comparatively small size and presumably because of a lack of understanding on the part of the broader university community of the work of Religious Studies departments, these departments seem especially vulnerable even if by all accounts they are more than "pulling their weight." In my view, we need to do a better job of publicizing the value of our work. The new initiatives by the CCSR should help with this.

Q: What's of the greatest importance to you, in terms of your teaching career, right now?
A: I am approaching mid-career as I have been teaching full time since 1986. To make students understand the value of studying the New Testament, early Christian texts, and ancient literature generally has seemed increasingly challenging over the years. I am especially interested helping students to see the impact and relevance of this material for modern culture.

Q: You're fully bilingual, but you have an English name. How did that happen?
A: Je suis née à St. Jean sur Richelieu (Québec). Ma mère est Québecoise (Dufour) et mon père (MacDonald) vient de la Nouvelle Ecosse. J'ai vécu à Chambly (Québec) et je suis allée à une école fran�aise. Dans la maison, nous parlions les deux langues. A l'âge de dix ans nous avons déménagé en Nouvelle Ecosse et j'ai continué mes études en anglais.

Q: Any parting advice for people in our field, particularly graduate students and undergraduates?
A: In this difficult job market, I think it is very important to be versatile and flexible. Candidates who can do interdisciplinary research and whose work is innovative often seem very attractive.