Gregory MacIsaac
Gregory MacIsaac is an associate professor at Carleton University and has been teaching in the bachelor of humanities program since 1998. He earned his BA degree in 1992 from the Dalhousie Department of Classics, in Ancient Languages and Ancient and Mediaeval Philosophy, his master’s degree in 1994 and finally, his PhD in 2011 at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. Gregory has studied around the world since 1994, travelling to Belgium, Paris, Dublin and London, honing his expertise in contemporary philosophy and classical studies.
At Carleton, Gregory’s main duty is the second-year core-humanities seminar, Reason and Revelation. This is an intensive course on Ancient and Medieval Philosophy, covering authors from Plato to Dante.
In 2013, he developed HUMS 1200, a course aimed at teaching students how to read and write in a way that will help them be successful.
MacIsaac’s teaching innovations haven’t gone unrecognized. He takes a unique approach to teaching what he calls “holistic” reading – studying and analyzing texts in their entirety rather than picking and choosing sections or pieces of information. In 2011, he was awarded the Provost’s Fellowship in Teaching Award for sustained excellence in teaching, the Faculty of Social Sciences Teaching Award, and several other accolades.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gregory converted the whole course to a blended model, by shifting previous PowerPoint presentations into asynchronous self study units. This change provided students with the extra time they required to process course materials and increased their overall levels of success. In recognition of these efforts, Gregory was a chosen recipient of the 2021 Excellence in Blended and Online Teaching Award for his exceptional impact on student learning in an online environment.