A University of Toronto (U of T) literature instructor has been criticized for saying he is not interested in teaching the works of female authors.
David Gilmour, who teaches at U of T’s Victoria College, said in an interview with Random House of Canada that he is “not interested in teaching books by women.”
“Usually at the beginning of the semester a hand shoots up and someone asks why there aren’t any women writers in the course,” Gilmour said in the interview.
“I say I don’t love women writers enough to teach them, if you want women writers go down the hall. What I teach is guys. Serious heterosexual guys.”
U of T released a statement in response to criticism of Gilmour’s remarks.
“Mr. Gilmour has since apologized in several venues for the offensive implications of his remarks,” the statement read. “The University and Victoria College will also ensure that students in his class are under no misapprehensions that Mr. Gilmour’s literary preferences may be translated into assumptions about their innate abilities.”
Gilmour clarified his remarks in an interview with the Globe and Mail.
“Look, I’m a middle-aged writer and I am interested in middle-aged writers,” he said. “I’m very keen on people’s lives who resemble mine because I understand those lives and I can feel passionately about them—and I teach best when I teach subjects that I’m passionate about.”
In its press release, U of T stated that university is a forum to learn various perspectives on issues.
“One might hope that, in a university environment, teachers would encourage respectful airing of differences of opinion, and that, by airing their own views in a respectful way, they would encourage students to examine critically their own beliefs as well as those of their teachers and classmates,” the release stated.
The university also distanced itself from Gilmour in the release.
“Mr. Gilmour is not a member of the University of Toronto faculty. However, Mr. Gilmour teaches University of Toronto students taking an elective seminar course through Victoria College,” it read.
The university did not indicate whether it would take any further actions to deal with the incident.
McMaster University student Holly Howe, who had previously read a book written by Gilmour, said she does not agree with his recent statements.
“I find it disturbing that Mr. Gilmour could fail to identify with someone just because of their gender or age,” Howe said via email.
“His selection of books might alienate some of his students and might promote sexism in others.”
Howe said Gilmour’s explanation of his remarks has “no merit.”
“The mark of a good author is that you identify with characters rather than the author,” she said. “The reason I can still enjoy Mr. Gilmour’s book after reading his statements is solely because I identify with his characters and not the author himself.”
