Suspension of Dal Russian studies ‘cynical,’ says faculty

A framed Anna Karenina poster, handmade cards and a bookshelf lined with Russian literature fill the soon-to-be empty office of Brett Winestock, an assistant professor in Dalhousie University’s now-defunct Russian studies program.  

The only Russian studies program in Atlantic Canada was suspended earlier this year during Dalhousie’s hiring freeze, which followed an $18-million shortfall due to declines in international student enrolment. The hiring freeze means many limited-term assignments, like Winestock’s, will not be renewed.  

Winestock told The Signal that when the hiring freeze began, Dalhousie reassured him there was “no danger” to his position and program.  

But when his emails expressing concerns went unanswered, he realized this may not be the case.  

“I personally found out my job was cut at the same time as anyone else — through an email,” he says, leaning back in his desk chair and chuckling.  

“The whole thing is being done in the dark.”  

The university announced the decision before alerting faculty and students, through an email to donors and alumni. 

Dalhousie spokesman Michael Fleury said the decision was due to “various challenges” in the program.  

Fleury cited “low enrolment numbers and an increasing difficulty in hiring qualified contract instructors to teach required classes.” 

Winestock calls this explanation “cruel.”  

“If they’re cutting for financial reasons, then they’re cutting for financial reasons,” he said. 

“But it’s cynical to say, ‘We’re cutting it for academic reasons,’ because all of a sudden they could just stop hiring people in other disciplines, they can artificially drive programs down, and no program is safe,” he said.  

Winestock, who moved from Germany to Halifax for his position at Dalhousie, is now without a job and unsure if he will find one in Canada.   

“It unfortunately means I am on the job market,” he says. “As of now, I don’t know what the future holds for me.”  

Eva Mroczek, the Simon and Riva Spatz chair in Jewish studies at Dalhousie, told The Signal that cutting the Russian studies program is particularly problematic given the significance of the Russia-Ukraine war. 

“The Russia-Ukraine war is one of the most significant geopolitical events right now. To cut the Russian program now is just egregiously bizarre,” Mroczek said. 

Mroczek was hired by the grant of Jim Spatz, in honour of his parents, who survived the Holocaust and relocated to Nova Scotia.   

“I take that very seriously,” she said.  

But cutting Winestock, who is the only Yiddish scholar in the region, while also making cuts to the Arabic studies program, poses significant problems for her program.  

“I was hired with the enthusiastic reassurance from the administration that they were excited about growing Jewish studies as an academic program here,” she said.  

“But these actions of cutting languages, opportunities for Jewish and Muslim students to work together, and terminating the only Yiddish scholar in the region — that is no longer credible,” she said.  

Fourth year Russian studies student Chloe Henderson said she is disappointed by the university’s decision.   

“There’s a lot of frustration from everyone in my class,” she said.  “There’s a feeling that it wasn’t done super transparently.” 

She says that studying the Russian language, along with the culture and history, made her better equipped to understand Russia’s global influence. 

“I really loved learning Russian. I think that it is such a valuable skill, especially in today’s political climate,” she says.